Calculations by Sputnik according to data from the UN Comtrade platform have released that the countries which benefitted the most from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in August were Romania, Turkey, South Korea, and Sudan.

Top destinations of Ukrainian grain ranked Romania with $149.9 million, Turkey with $97.7 million, Poland with $54.6 million, and Hungary with $33.3 million, followed by South Korea, Germany, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, and Italy.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated on numerous occasions that the majority of ships carrying Ukrainian grain did not make it to the world's poorest countries and instead ended up in Europe. Moscow has also maintained that the deal's provision for Russian food products is ineffective.

According to UN Comtrade data, Western countries remained the recipients of 66% of all Ukrainian grain exports. 

As the deal took effect, grain exports increased from $407.6 million in July to $594.3 million in August, with Turkey accounting for the biggest increase of $38.8 million. South Korea and Sudan came in as the two other major importers of Ukrainian grain, importing close to $32 million and $22.1 million in August, respectively.

On July 22, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov signed a grain deal mediated by the United Nations in Istanbul. 

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