For six months, ships filled with grain lay idle in the Black Sea, victims of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.. And so these ships moved, trying to leave the military zone with cargo on board, the quality of which is sometimes doubtful.

“It only takes one missile to fly over the region and hit something to stop everything.. There is a light at the end of the tunnel due to unblocked ports. But this tunnel can close quickly. One act is enough and everything will disappear. The risk is high,” John Rich, head of the MHP agricultural holding, told Forbes.

First deliveries are heading from Ukraine to a destination in the Middle East and Africa where millions of people are suffering from increased hunger. Now in the world there are whole pockets of starvation, and the situation is aggravated by drought in many regions. In East Africa, for example, people die from acute malnutrition every 48 seconds, according to a May Oxfam report..

Food supplies are critical to fighting hunger. But grain may not be the solution to the problem as everyone hopes.. In February, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, many crews abandoned their ships. This means that there was no ventilation on board all this time.. It is very likely that a significant portion of the grain on board is covered in mold and mycotoxins due to the high levels of humidity..

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In addition, it is necessary for the ships to reach their destination.. The first ship to leave the port of Odessa was the Razoni under the flag of Sierra Leone. It is moored in the Mediterranean Sea near Turkey, according to the Lebanese government.. Rich, whose company typically harvests 3 million tons of Ukrainian grain annually, says deliveries are being delayed as grain quality deteriorates and needs to be resold.. Usually shipment occurs in two weeks. And this cargo was in the port of Odessa for several months.

“From what we hear, we can conclude that the quality of the grain is questionable,” Rich said..

Even getting ships out of ports is very difficult. In addition to the fact that the water area is mined, the southern part of Ukraine still remains a zone of active hostilities.. Ukraine plans to launch a counteroffensive to regain control of port cities. But Russia is heavily shelling Ukrainian defenders with artillery. This is another reason why the MHP holding, also engaged in the production of butter and chicken meat, is in no hurry to the port of Odessa.

\? I can sit and wait. At MHP we do not want to be pioneers. We are more inclined to wait and stack our grain, watching how the process goes,” he explained, adding that the argoholding exports food from its warehouses to Europe by trucks and trains across the western Ukrainian border. Demand in wealthier European countries has risen due to drought and other difficult conditions that have caused some crops to be lost..

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Most of the Ukrainian grain that is transported to Europe was destined for the countries of the Middle East and Africa, such as Egypt. The opening of Ukrainian ports is temporary. Because the grain treaty, which was signed with the mediation of the UN, is valid for only 120 days. However, according to Abiola Afolayan, formerly of the UN and now Chief International Policy Adviser at Bread for the World, it is still a powerful symbol of the global hunger crisis.. She notes that the situation is very sensitive..

“There is concern about the ability to export grain safely. The big problem is that the ships are not attacked when they leave the port of Odessa. But this is only one component of the solution to the global food crisis we are dealing with.. And this should not be the only solution,” Afolayan said..

The UN says that in recent years the number of people "