FirstFT: Ukraine grain exports will take ‘months’ to reach prewar levels

Ukraine’s infrastructure minister has warned that it will take months before grain exports from Odesa and neighbouring ports reach prewar levels and alleviate the global food crisis despite the relaxation of Russia’s Black Sea blockade.

Speaking after yesterday’s departure of a ship transporting corn from Odesa to Lebanon — the first since last month’s UN-brokered deal between Russia and Ukraine — Oleksander Kubrakov said he expected no more than five vessels in the next two weeks to follow suit from Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi. The three ports previously handled about 60 per cent of Ukraine’s grain exports.

At least 16 ships are trapped in Ukrainian ports with shipments and crew waiting for authorities to test a safe passage through sea mines — laid by Russia and Ukraine — and the threat of Russian missiles.

Prices of wheat, corn and vegetable oils soared in the wake of Russia’s invasion in February. But the prospect of a reopening of the Black Sea corridor, along with global recession fears and record crops in Russia, have recently pushed down agricultural commodity prices.

Do you have any feedback on today’s newsletter? Let me know at firstft@ft.com, or reply to this email. Thanks for reading FirstFT Europe/Africa — Jennifer

Five more stories in the news

1. Liz Truss vows to take on Whitehall ‘establishment’ The Conservative leadership contender yesterday escalated her fight with the civil service, vowing to cut pay and holidays and refusing to rule out breaking up the Treasury. But Truss’s unorthodox views have had only a minor effect on bond markets.

“I do think the Treasury needs to change. And it has been a block on progress” — Liz Truss, UK foreign secretary

2. Instagram head to temporarily relocate to London Adam Mosseri’s move will effectively make the UK capital, which is parent Meta’s biggest non-US engineering hub, Instagram’s base and signals a strategic shift for the social networking app as it competes with TikTok to retain younger audiences.

3. German retail sales plunge Retail sales volumes dropped 8.8 per cent in June compared with the same month last year, the country’s statistics office said yesterday, marking its largest annual rate fall since records began in 1994. Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, called the figures “miserable”.

4. BA halts Heathrow short-haul ticket sales for seven days British Airways has suspended ticket sales for short-haul flights from Heathrow for the next seven days after Britain’s busiest airport last month capped the number of passengers at 100,000 a day in an effort to limit delays that have wreaked havoc with summer travel plans.

5. Nancy Pelosi to meet Taiwan’s president The Speaker of the US House of Representatives plans to meet Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei tomorrow, a controversial visit that has triggered strong warnings from China, including suggestions that the People’s Liberation Army could retaliate.

The day ahead

Ukrainian grain to arrive in Turkey The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni carrying 26,000 tonnes of Ukrainian corn is due to land in Istanbul today, the first shipment under a UN-led deal. A second €500mn tranche of financial aid from the EU will also be sent to Kyiv.

Corporate earnings Companies reporting include Airbnb, BP, Greggs, JetBlue Airways, Man Group, PayPal, Prudential Financial, Starbucks and Uber.

Economic data The UK’s Nationwide July house price index and quarterly insolvency figures are out. In the US, job openings are forecast to have declined for the third straight month in June but are at a historically high level. (FT, WSJ)

What else we’re reading

Madagascar’s famine is an alarm bell for the planet The UN has called it the world’s first climate-change-induced famine. Some experts contend it is a consequence of poverty and poor governance. For people in Madagascar’s south, unaware of the international furore and desperate to survive, it is known as kere — the hunger.

The Taliban’s new order After seizing power last year, Kabul’s new regime is overturning the way the country has been governed since it was ousted in 2001. Afghanistan’s new rulers, isolated internationally and mistrustful of foreign powers, say they are creating the world’s only true Islamic regime.

• Life on the ground: For many Afghans, anxiety about the Taliban regime is overshadowed by more immediate concerns: finding their next meal.

Ifeoma Ozoma: tech workers must be Silenced No More After suffering discrimination on the basis of gender and race, the former Google, Facebook and Pinterest employee turned whistleblower is on a mission to end the abuse of non-disclosure agreements.

“The reason why they have been especially abusive within the tech industry is because of the power that industry has not only on the job market, but in all of our lives” — Ifeoma Ozoma

South Africa’s private sector looks to end Eskom power crisis Rolling blackouts have persisted in Africa’s most industrialised economy for more than a decade; in recent weeks, they have lasted up to 12 hours a day. As state-owned power monopoly Eskom risks collapse, does the private sector hold the solution?

England victory a commercial breakthrough for women’s football When an event provokes a public response from the Queen, the prime minister and the Spice Girls, questions about relevance are quickly dispelled. While the main challenges for the game remain — generating commercial income, attracting spectators and giving more women and girls the opportunity to play — there are reasons to be hopeful.

Chess

A record budget and a nation’s grandiose sporting ambition are the driving forces behind the 180-nation Olympiad in Chennai, which approaches its closing rounds this weekend.