Miller Magazine Issue: 153 September 2022

85 ARTICLE MILLER / SEPTEMBER 2022 proceeded with the preparation for resuming the grain ex- port. In early August 2022, that is almost half a year after the outbreak of the war, the first caravan of vessels carrying Ukrainian grain finally sailed from the port of Odesa. While the export is still possible only from a limited num- ber of seaports in Ukraine, the Grain Export Deal has, none- theless, enabled the traders to supply a significant amount of grain on the market. Within 1-15 August 2022, more than half a million metric tonnes of commodities were export- ed through the grain corridor. In the light of such develop- ments, the United Nations have even expressed their ex- pectation that there will be “a big uptick” in applications to pick up cargoes at Ukrainian ports soon and an export goal of 2-5 million metric tonnes per month is “achievable”. GRAIN EXPORT DEAL: EXPLAINED The Grain Export Deal has created new opportunities for the importers of grain since they are now enabled to purchase Ukrainian commodities and cover the existing deficit of goods (potentially at a favourable price!). At the same time, the Grain Export Deal imposes additional re- quirements on the parties involved in the deliveries from Ukrainian ports making export under this initiative much more complex compared to the typical way of procuring commodities in the Black Sea region. To facilitate the importers of Ukrainian grain with this mat- ter, AGA Partners will analyze in detail the main terms of the Grain Export Deal and explain how the possible risks arising from its implementation can be minimized. The primary focus of the Grain Export Deal is the safety of transportation from the Ukrainian ports. The parties have established a number of requirements that need to be fol- lowed by Russia and Ukraine as well as by the ship owners and ship operators involved in the deliveries under this ini- tiative. In particular, the safe passage of vessels is secured by the following commitments. •Safety of transportation. Both Ukraine and Russia have undertaken to secure a safe environment for all vessels engaged in exporting commodities from Ukraine. Russia has consented not to attack such vessels while Ukraine en- sures their safe passage through its territorial waters. •Maritime corridor. Ukraine together with Türkiye has developed a secure maritime corridor from Türkiye to the Ukrainian ports which has been agreed upon by all the par- ties. The vessels carrying the goods under the Grain Export