Geneva: A top UN official said Friday that West Africa is next in line to receive crucial Russian fertiliser that has been prevented from being exported from European ports to needy countries, largely over private-sector concerns about financing and insurance for such deliveries.
Rebeca Grynspan, the head of the U.N. trade office, hailed "very good news for the world" that Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the world body had a day earlier extended a four-month deal to ease the export of Ukrainian grain and foodstuffs through the Black Sea.
The war in Ukraine has helped drive up prices for food and fertiliser around the world. The extension had a quick impact on market prices and earned the UN some breathing space as talks continue.
"But we have said very clearly that we are still not where we want to be," Grynspan told a U.N. briefing in Geneva.
"There is still work to be done and especially in the fertiliser area because there, still, we are seeing a fertiliser crunch."
"We see a very steep decline in the demand for fertilisers because of the affordability crisis, and that is what is keeping us awake right now," she added. The agreement struck on July 22 which had been set to expire on Saturday, unblocked shipments of 11 million tons of grain and foodstuffs from Ukraine and helped ease rising global food prices.
The deal will be extended by another four months. The initiative set up a safe shipping corridor in the Black Sea and inspection procedures to address concerns that cargo vessels might carry weapons or launch attacks.
Obstacles still remain for a second, parallel deal on the export of Russian food and fertilisers.