KYIV, UKRAINE — Six more grain ships departed Ukraine’s Black Sea ports on Aug. 7 carrying corn, soybeans and sunflower oil as part of the brokered agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine on July 22 to allow grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports as the war between the two countries rages on, the Associated Press reported.

The vessels departed from the Port of Odesa and the Port of Chornomorsk, with four ships carrying more than 219,000 tonnes of corn, one carrying 6,600 tonnes of sunflower oil and another transporting 11,000 tonnes of soybeans, according to the Turkey-based Joint Coordination Center that is overseeing the shipments.

The United Nations and Turkey brokered the agreement that will allow more than 20 million tonnes of grain that has been sitting in storage since Feb. 24 due to Russia’s blockade of the Black Sea ports to be exported to food insecure countries, mostly in Africa and the Middle East.

The first shipment — 27,000 tonnes of corn — left the Port of Odesa on Aug.  1 bound for Lebanon, which is currently in a severe food insecurity crisis.

Three other cargo ships that left on Aug. 5 passed their inspections and received clearance to pass through Turkey’s Bosporus Strait on the way to their final destinations, the Joint Coordination Center said.

Ukraine is the world’s largest sunflower oil exporter and ranks among the top five in wheat and corn exports. Its absence on the global market has contributed to a significant increase in grain prices over the past six months.