President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday said more than 4 million metric tons of grain has been shipped out of Ukraine as part of the landmark Istanbul deal.

Erdoğan said the deal, brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye to unblock Ukrainian seaports, was running "smoothly."

"More than 4 million tons of grain have been exported through the grain corridor. It is still continuing," the president told reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul.

Ukraine’s grain exports slumped after Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24 and blockaded its Black Sea ports, driving up global food prices and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.

Three Black Sea ports were reopened under the grain deal signed on July 22 by Moscow and Kyiv.

Erdoğan on Friday also reiterated the importance of exporting Russian grain and fertilizers, stressing it would help poor countries.

Ukraine, a global major grain producer and exporter, shipped up to 6 million tons of grain per month before the war.

The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) with officials from Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the U.N. was set up in Istanbul as part of the deal to oversee the shipments.