“Russia’s war has significantly disrupted Ukraine’s agricultural sector and endangered global food security. The Black Sea Grain Deal has provided a vitally needed outlet for Ukrainian agricultural exports. It has allowed Ukraine to ship over 10.5 million tons of grainand reduce food prices for consumers across the world. It has also helped Ukrainian farms remain viable in extremely challenging conditions. As a major trader and agricultural producer, NIBULON has a strong interest in the extension of this temporary arrangement, but we also want to see the terms of the agreement significantly improved.First, the deal should include the ports of Mykolaiv, which are among the largest in Ukraine and shipped 35% of Ukrainian food exports before the war. Without access to these ports, exporters have to use alternative routes by road and river that are much slower and, in some cases, 10-40 times more expensive.Second, the temporary grain corridor needs to be much more transparent so that it operates more efficiently and fairly. For example, a digital queueing system could play a major role in streamlining the process. The technology is easily available and would be cheap to install.Third, the current mandatory inspections of cargoes passing are making this channel unnecessarily inefficient. Evidence suggests that Russia is deliberately slowing down the process to limit the volume of Ukrainian exports. The extension deal should address this problem by reducing the number and nature of the inspections required and making more personnel available to carry them out.The UN World Food Programme has estimated that the war could increase the number of people at risk of acute hunger by 47 million this year, with the greatest impact on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is essential that the grain corridor functions much more efficiently so that Ukrainian agriculture can increases supplies to global markets and prevent such a catastrophe.”