Berlin, Aug 15 (IANS): The first grain freighter chartered by the United Nations left the southern Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi on Sunday with wheat for Africa, according to the governor of the Odessa region, Maksym Marchenko.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) had chartered the freighter Brave Commander, which the UN said was carrying 23,000 tons of wheat destined for Ethiopia, dpa news agency reported.

The UN and Turkey had brokered agreements at the end of July to allow Ukraine to resume exporting grain through its Black Sea ports despite the war with Russia.

Since the beginning of August, more than a dozen freighters have taken Ukrainian grain out of the country. However, the first shipments were commercial.

The UN fears food shortages and hunger in poor parts of the world if Ukraine fails to resume its traditional role as a major grain supplier.

The ships and their cargo are inspected as they pass through the Turkish straits of the Bosporus.