Ukraine grain exports down 31.5% at 19.7 mln T so far in 2022/23

KYIV, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Ukraine has exported almost 19.7 million tonnes of grain so far in the 2022/23 season, down 31.5% from the 28.7 million tonnes exported by the same stage of the previous season, agriculture ministry data showed on Wednesday.

• READ MORE: The toll of war in Ukraine

The volume included around 7.3 million tonnes of wheat, 10.8 million tonnes of corn and about 1.5 million tonnes of barley.

After an almost six-month blockade caused by the Russian invasion, three Ukrainian Black Sea ports were unblocked at the end of July under a deal between Moscow and Kyiv brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.

The government has said that Ukraine could harvest about 51 million tonnes of grain this year, down from a record 86 million tonnes in 2021, because of the loss of land to Russian forces and lower yields.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; editing by Jason Neely)

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