Ships loaded with Ukrainian grain leave Ukraine with great fanfare after almost six months of inactivity in the country's Black Sea ports.. But another deal concluded in parallel, which cleared the way for the export of Russian wheat, went very quietly, writes AP NEWS. Nevertheless, this deal stimulates an industry vital for the Russian economy.

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While the US and its European allies are trying to block Russia's finances with a web of sanctions for invading Ukraine, they are avoiding direct sanctions against Russian grain and other goods that feed people around the world..

Russian and Ukrainian wheat, barley, corn and sunflower oil are important to countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, where millions of people rely on bread subsidies to survive.

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Since Russian aggression against Ukraine has skyrocketed food and energy prices, millions of people have been pushed into poverty or on the brink of starvation..

The two deals struck last month by the UN and Turkey to unlock food supplies depend on each other: one protects ships exporting Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, and the other guarantees Russia its food and fertilizers will not be sanctioned by protecting one of the.

While U.S. and European Union sanctions do not directly target Russian agriculture, Western banks are wary of making payments, making it harder for buyers and shippers to access Russian grain..

“You will have to spend time working with banks to get them to understand this whole situation, because the authorities are saying, ‘Go on, there are no sanctions’, but the banks themselves are imposing sanctions,” said Gaurav Srivastava, whose company Harvest Commodities buys, transports and.

He called the process of working with banks a laborious task, although in recent weeks there has been an appearance of a kind of truce between all parties..

Srivastava hopes to be able to export 10-15 million tons of Russian grain next year.

He was also able to get out two ships that had been stuck in Ukrainian ports since the beginning of the war on February 24.. He said the company intends to take 1 million tons of grain from Ukraine as part of a four-month UN deal..

“We are a commercial business, but we are trying to alleviate the plight of farmers in both Russia and Ukraine,” explains Srivastava..

The grain deal matters to Russia as it is the world's largest exporter of wheat, accounting for almost a fifth of the world's supply.. In addition, this year the country is expected to have one of the best harvest seasons in history..

According to the World Bank, agriculture accounts for about 4% of Russia's gross domestic product..

In addition, agriculture provides 5-6 million jobs in Russia, and some regions are almost completely dependent on it for their livelihoods..

Russian and Ukrainian grain is becoming more important to prevent famine in developing countries. A June S\u0026P Global Commodity Insights report says 41 million tons of Russian wheat could be exported this year..

But overall, the world is expected to produce 12.2 million tons less wheat and 19 million tons less corn compared to the previous year.. This is partly due to the war in Ukraine and the drought in Europe..