Black Sea grain trade
Also called: Black Sea Grain Initiative · Topic: Primary Activities: Gathering, Pastoralism, Agriculture and Mining · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The countries around the Black Sea are among the world's biggest grain sellers. Russia is the largest wheat exporter, and Ukraine is a major one. Their grain ships sail from ports such as Novorossiysk and Odesa and leave the Black Sea through the Bosporus strait in Turkey. After the war in Ukraine began, the UN and Turkey arranged the Black Sea Grain Initiative. It let Ukrainian grain ships sail safely from July 2022 until Russia quit in July 2023. After that, Ukraine used its own sea corridor (verify current). This matters because North Africa and West Asia rely on imported grain. They are hit hard when this route or the Bosporus chokepoint is blocked.
Example
Odesa, a port on Ukraine's southern Black Sea coast, was the main port used for grain shipments under the Black Sea Grain Initiative.