THE deal to allow the safe transport of grain out of Ukraine by sea was an extraordinary and unprecedented agreement between enemy combatants. And the fact that it has seen 17m tonnes exported to dates has, quite literally, been a matter of life and death as well as a minor diplomatic miracle.

But the initiative is deeply flawed and survives despite its status as a political bargaining chip and routine threats from Russia to shut it down.

Despite its drawbacks and limitations it is our view that the deal will likely survive 2023, but there are few guarantees and several risk factors that could yet scuttle this essential lifeline.

So, we’re taking a deep dive into the Ukraine grain corridor this week on the podcast, bringing you insights from three of the world’s leading experts as we examine how sustainable the grain corridor is and the role it plays in wartime economics, policy and diplomacy.

Despite the flaws in the system, what has become clear is that the corridor has gone some way towards easing bottlenecks and business operations

Lloyd’s List’s data analyst Bridget Diakun has been following the evolution of the Ukraine corridor since its inception and leads the discussion in this week’s edition featuring three of the world’s leading experts on the topic:

• Stanislav Zinchenko, chief executive at GMK Centre, Ukrainian consultancy focusing on European steel markets;

• Yoruk Isik, a geopolitical analyst from the Istanbul-based consultancy Bosphorus Observer;

• Cormac Mc Garry, associate director at Control Risks.