Kiev, Aug 18 (IANS): A fleet of three vessels, together carrying 33,000 tons of corn, wheat and sunflower oil, departed from Ukraine on Wednesday, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority said.

So far, a total of 24 ships have left Ukraine under a grain deal signed July in Turkey, Xinhua news agency reported.

Also on Wednesday, five vessels entered Ukrainian ports for loading, which are expected to supply more than 70,000 tons of wheat, bran, sunflower oil and corn to international markets.

Ukraine has set a target to handle about 100 vessels per month in its Black Sea ports, which would allow exporting some 3 million tons of grain and other foodstuffs.

On July 22, Ukraine and Russia separately signed a deal with Turkey and the United Nations in Istanbul to resume food and fertilizer shipments from Ukrainian ports to international markets via the Black Sea.

On August 1, the first cargo vessel carrying grain left the Ukrainian port of Odesa for the port of Tripoli in Lebanon.