Black Sea grain deal to be extended for two months: Erdogan

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to extend the Black Sea grain deal for two more months, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a tweet May 17.

"With the efforts of our country, the support of our Russian friends and the contributions of our Ukrainian friends, it was decided to extend the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement for another 2 months," Erdogan said.

The Black Sea grain deal was set to expire on May 18, with Russia having said it would pull out of the arrangement unless some of its demands -- such as removing obstacles to its own grain and fertilizer exports -- were met.

"I wish that this decision, which is of vital importance for the uninterrupted operation of global food supply chains and especially for facilitating the access to grain of the countries in need, will be beneficial to all parties," Erdogan said.

"#BlackSeaGrainInitiative has been unblocked, continue to be valid till 18July as signed before. Grateful for our partners @UN 🇺🇳and Türkiye for efforts in strengthening global food security," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Twitter.

Ukraine, Turkey and the UN had agreed on March 18 to extend the grain deal by 120 days, while Russia suggested a 60-day extension. The Russian foreign ministry said April 13 that the deal may not be extended beyond May 18.

Ukraine also said April 17 that the grain corridor was in danger of being closed, claiming that Russia had been delaying vessel inspections.

On May 8, the Ukrainian restoration ministry said Russia had "effectively" paused the Black Sea grain deal by refusing to register incoming vessels, claiming 90 ships, including 62 vessels for loading, were waiting for approval.

"We will continue our efforts to ensure that all the conditions of the agreement are fulfilled and that it will continue in the next period. In addition, our Russian friends stated that they will not prevent the exit of Turkish ships in Mykolaiv and Olvia Ports. We are grateful to them for this," Erdogan said in a tweet.

Russia, Ukraine, the UN, and Turkey had held negotiations in Istanbul over May 10-11 on extension of the deal , although these remained inconclusive.

Russia and Ukraine originally signed the Black Sea Grain deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey, on July 22 to allow exports of food and fertilizer from three Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea: Odessa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhny.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed Russian 12.5% FOB wheat at $249/mt and Ukrainian 11.5% FOB wheat at $246/mt on May 16, both unchanged on the day. Platts assessed Ukrainian FOB corn at $224/mt, also unchanged.