Russia has halted commercial vessel movement in the Azov Sea until further notice, but has kept its ports in the Black Sea open for navigation, according to officials and five grain sector sources on Thursday.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine to eliminate a ‘severe threat,’ saying his goal was to demilitarise Russia’s southern neighbour.
Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, ships grain mostly from Black Sea ports.
Shallow water ports with limited capacity can be found in the Azov Sea.
‘All ships are on’stop’ (in the Azov sea),’ a grain sector source said on condition of anonymity to Reuters.
The most active wheat contract in Chicago is up 5.6 percent, reaching its highest level since mid-2012.
Russia and Ukraine contribute for 29% of global wheat exports, 19 percentof global maize (corn) supplies, and 80 percent of global sunflower oil exports.
Russia produced 76 million tonnes of wheat last year and is set to export 35 million tonnes in the July-June season, accounting for 17 percent of the global total, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Russia delivers wheat to all of the world’s major purchasers. The main importers are Turkey and Egypt. more info
Ukraine has asked Turkey to restrict the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to Russian ships, according to the Ukrainian envoy in Ankara.
There has been no response to Ankara’s request as of yet.
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