2023-07-20 08:19:45
From 00:00 today, Russia will consider all ships sailing on the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports as potential carriers of military cargo
Wheat rose in price for the day by over 8% in Europe and the US
Sharply rise in price on the wheat on world markets was registered yesterday after Russia said it would treat ships bound for Ukrainian ports as potential military targets, the BBC reported.
This week, Moscow pulled out of a deal that guaranteed the safe passage of grain shipments across the Black Sea.
A White House spokesman accused Russia of planning to blame Ukraine for the attacks on civilian ships.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will immediately return to the grain deal if his demands are met.
These include reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to a global payment system.
Following airstrikes around Odessa this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of deliberately targeting grain export infrastructure and putting vulnerable countries at risk.
Kiev called on other countries in the Black Sea region to intervene to ensure the safe passage of cargo ships.
“Starting at 00:00 Moscow time on July 20, 2023, all ships sailing on the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports will be considered potential carriers of military cargo,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“Countries behind such ships will be considered participants in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kiev regime,” it added.
Wheat prices on the European stock exchange jumped 8.2 percent on Wednesday from the previous day to 253.75 euros a tonne, while corn prices rose 5.4 percent.
U.S. wheat futures jumped 8.5 percent on Wednesday, their biggest daily gain since shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky said the strikes destroyed 60,000 tons of grain and damaged significant parts of the grain export infrastructure.
Russia began attacking Ukraine’s ports in the early hours of Tuesday, within hours of pulling out of the grain deal.
Marex Capital analyst Charlie Sernatinger said the threat of this kind of escalation could “cut off all grain supplies by water from the Black Sea, both Russian and Ukrainian,” which would cause a situation similar to the one at the start of the war.
Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading, said: “Things have heated up again in Ukraine. There is a real shooting going on there and no one is going to interfere with it.
“It’s the breadbasket of Europe and shippers are pulling out.”
On Wednesday, Putin accused the West of using the grain deal as “political blackmail.”
Moscow has also accused Ukraine of using the Black Sea grain corridor for “combat purposes”. Russia hit Ukraine’s Black Sea ports after a suspected drone attack at sea damaged the sea bridge to Crimea on Monday.
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