The bulk carrier SKY GATE is transporting 25,000 tons of Ukrainian humanitarian wheat to Nigeria through the Ukrainian corridor. This is the first vessel with humanitarian wheat this year, chartered by the United Nations World Food Programme under the GrainFromUkraine programme.
"The Ukrainian corridor today is the main route for Ukrainian agrarian products to access world markets. This is significant not only for Ukraine's economic recovery but also for supporting global food security. Over the past six months, more than 15 million tons of Ukrainian grain cargoes have been exported from the ports of Odesa. And we are resuming the supply of humanitarian wheat under the Grain From Ukraine programme to countries on the brink of famine," said Vice Prime Minister for Reintegration of Ukraine and Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov.
The Grain From Ukraine programme was initiated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in November 2022 and is being implemented jointly with the United Nations World Food Programme and donor countries. Its goal is to provide access to Ukrainian food to countries suffering from hunger. In the first year, 34 countries and international organizations joined the programme. 170,000 tons of humanitarian wheat were sent to Ethiopia, Yemen, Somalia, Kenya, and Afghanistan.
At the second international summit Grain From Ukraine held in Kyiv on November 25, 2023, over $100 million was raised for countries most affected by food shortages to continue the humanitarian programme.