Three more ships have left Ukrainian ports under the Türkiye-brokered grain deal with Russia and Ukraine, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

Shipments from Ukrainian ports are continuing, said the ministry in a statement, adding: "Three more ships loaded with grain departed from Ukrainian ports this morning."

In July, Türkiye, the United Nations, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which were halted due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its seventh month.

A Joint Coordination Center (JCC) with officials from the three countries and the U.N. has been set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the JCC last Saturday.

According to Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, as of Friday, 44 ships have left Ukrainian ports under the deal, carrying a million tons of food to 15 countries worldwide.

"We are ready to increase our volumes to 3M tons per month to prevent global food shortage," he wrote on Twitter.