Following the November 11 meeting in Geneva on the grain deal, the UN called on countries around the world to lift barriers to Russian fertilizer exports, BTA reported. UN officials on Friday met with Russia’s deputy foreign minister to discuss the unimpeded export of grain and fertilizers. The negotiations come eight days before the deal brokered by the U.N. and Turkey in July is due to be renewed. The accord has helped stave off a global food crisis by allowing the export of food and fertilisers from several of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.

Moscow has indicated that it could quit the deal, set to expire on Nov. 19, if no progress is made on its concerns about restrictions on Russian food and fertiliser exports imposed by the West after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The has war caused a spike in prices of basic foodstuffs and sparked fears of a global food crisis. 

"The world cannot afford to let global fertilizer accessibility problems become a global food shortage," UN declared in a statement and called on "all actors to expedite the removal of any remaining impediments to the export and transportation of fertilizers to countries most in need." 

The organisation also managed to unblock a shipment of 20,000 tons of fertilizer in the Netherlands, stuck in the Dutch port of Rotterdam due to EU-imposed sanctions on certain individuals and goods. The shipment will head for Malawi in the coming days under the auspices of the UN's World Food Programme.

Speaking at a news conference in Cambodia on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba noted that Russia remaining part of the deal was insufficient and measures should be taken ensure its inspectors were not intentionally delaying shipments and forcing global prices to rise.