Market News & Headlines >> Ukraine Has Requested Grain Deal Talks

Ukraine has asked the United Nations (UN) and Turkey to start negotiations on extending the Black Sea grain export deal, but has not yet received a response, a Ukrainian government source told Reuters News Service on Tuesday.

"We have sent a letter requesting that we start dealing with this issue as March 18 is very soon, but we have not had any feedback so far," a source said.

Yuriy Vaskov, Ukraine's deputy minister of restoration, told Reuters last week that Kyiv would ask all sides to start talks to roll over the deal, seeking an extension of at least one year that would include the ports of Mykolaiv. The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the UN and Turkey last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports. The agreement was extended in November and will expire on March 18 unless an extension is agreed.

Insurance industry sources said having Mykolaiv added to the initiative would help to speed up the departure of more than 60 ships that are stranded in multiple Ukrainian ports. There are around 26 ships stuck in Mykolaiv alone, according to shipping industry estimates. 

Insurers are facing at least half a billion dollars in claims for the commercial ships still stuck in Ukraine a year after the start of the war with Russia, sources have said.