Ukraine/UK/Europe and Russia are hammering each other’s grain export hubs, causing damage and blockages on the Danube ports in Ukraine and on the Black Sea, respectively. Several expert estimates estimate the number of cargo ships registered to Russia or carrying Russian cargo, which have been hit by the West’s drones, at 200 ships in the month of June alone. Russia has concentrated on “blocking” the port of Odessa, Ukraine’s number-one grain exporting outlet, by targeting port and related facilities in and around the city.
The futures price of wheat jumped up by $4 on Friday, July 31, to $640 per metric tonne. It is still nowhere near its highs during the COVID crisis, which ran to the vicinity of $1,000 per tonne Because of existing inventories in many exporting countries, wheat is still in early stages of a new crisis, as oil was until late in July.
At the July 27 UN Security Council meeting on the Ukraine war, UN Under Secretary for Political Affairs Kayoko Goto, at the Security Council, saw fit to criticize only Russia’s strikes on Kiev and Odessa, apparently, although as to grains exports on which the world depends, the Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s Black Sea cargo ships have been more extensive.
