Hungary To Purchase 10,000 Tonnes Of Ukrainian Grain Worth $3.5Mln - President

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th November, 2022) Hungary will purchase 10,000 tonnes of grain from Kiev worth $3.5 million to transfer to poor countries as part of the Grain From Ukraine initiative proposed by Kiev, Hungarian President Katalin Novak said on Monday.

On November 26, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during the visit of the heads of governments of Hungary, Belgium, Lithuania and Poland to Kiev, officially launched so called Grain From Ukraine initiative. According to the initiative, by the end of spring 2023 Ukraine plans to send at least 60 ships with grain to countries threatened by famine and drought, namely Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Congo, Kenya and Nigeria.

"Today I am also proud to announce that Hungary made a pledge of 10,000 tonnes of grain in an amount of $3.5 million," Novak said in a video message, published on her social media.

On November 26, Novak confirmed reports that she was in the Ukrainian capital, making her the highest-ranking Hungarian politician to visit the country since the start of Russia's special military operation in February.

On July 22, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations struck a deal to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that most of the ships carrying Ukrainian grain did not make it to the world's poorest countries and ended up in Europe. At the same time, Putin has voiced his concerns that Russian products are not entering the global markets as promised by the agreement.

Since then, the grain deal, originally scheduled to expire on November 19, was renewed for another 120 days. Last week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin highlighted the importance of lifting Western sanctions on exports of Russian agricultural products to reduce risks to global food security.