STORY: Warnings of a global food crisis are growing as Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies, while Ukraine is also a major exporter of corn, barley, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday called for talks with Moscow on unlocking wheat exports trapped in Ukraine as a result of a Russian sea blockade.

On Wednesday, Interfax cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying Moscow was ready to provide a humanitarian corridor for vessels carrying food to leave Ukraine, in return for lifting some sanctions.

Ukraine is expecting the new harvest to amount to some 70% of last year's crop as some of the fields are now under Russian control or have been mined, Kravchuk said.