On November 26, on the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the Holodomor of 1932–1933, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially launched the Grain from Ukraine humanitarian food program. The president emphasized that Ukraine and its foreign partners had already raised more than $180 million in the first days of this program. This money will be enough to buy nearly 800,000 tons of wheat at market prices.
The food will be sent to the poorest African and Asian countries. The program will provide at least 5 million people with food until the end of spring 2023. The money raised to date will suffice for loading 30 standard bulkers. A total of 60 vessels with grain will be sent as part of the program.
Grain from Ukraine: who agreed to help?
Ukraine allocated UAH 900 million (nearly $24.5 million) for the initiative. By decision of the government, the money will be used to buy 125,000 tons of wheat and corn for humanitarian aid.
Japan was the first of the international partners to support the Grain from Ukraine initiative at the G19 summit. The country pledged $14 million to buy Ukrainian grain. The U.S. has made the largest contribution to the program so far, donating $20 million.
An intention to make a financial, technical, or logistical contribution to the initiative was announced by Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the U.K., the U.S., the European Union as a separate entity, NATO, and the UN.
Speaking at the "Grain from Ukraine" summit, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that Russia is once again using food as a weapon.
"We must continue to fight back against this," she said stridently. Therefore, the European Commission undertook to buy 40,000 tons of grain and send them to consumers.
According to the broker and analytical company Spike Brokers, the Ukrainian grain market hasn’t responded to the news about the purchase of grain yet. The prices remain unchanged.