Russian attacks are targeting not only port facilities and terminals but also international merchant ships. Several vessels carrying agricultural products have been hit. Shipping companies are increasingly avoiding Ukrainian ports. On some days, no commercial ships entered, and there is barely any capacity available for new grain shipments.
Harvest threatened
This affects Ukraine at a time when new harvests need to be shipped. Farmers and agricultural companies are therefore preparing to store grain longer. The country currently still has sufficient storage space, but the shortage of silo and storage capacity could reach up to 11 million tons by the end of autumn.
Overland
Kiev is thus attempting to export more grain over land. Poland is again being considered. Ukraine intends to transport agricultural products by rail and road to, among others, the northern Polish Baltic Sea ports of Gdańsk, Szczecin, Świnoujście, and Gdynia. Kiev emphasizes that the grain is transported exclusively through Poland to countries outside the European Union.
Promotion
Another option runs via Moldova. Ukraine is negotiating with Chisinau for lower rail tariffs for grain transported via Moldova to the Romanian port of Constanța. This route could handle up to 4.5 million tons annually, about 10 percent of Ukrainian agricultural exports. Other alternative routes are also being explored.
Inland shipping
However, problems are also emerging along the route to Constanța. Due to successive heatwaves and lack of rain, water levels in the Danube are historically low. Inland vessels can therefore be loaded less heavily. This reduces the number of transports, causes longer waiting times, and further drives up the costs of transport to the Romanian port.
The alternatives cannot fully replace the Black Sea ports. The combination of rail connections and the Danube can only handle about one third of what can be transported through the Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Ukraine therefore continues to view restoring the maritime export route as its main objective.
Financial support
The problems also affect the financial position of farmers. Ukraine has requested €220 million in aid from the European Union for small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises. The government aims to use this to support, among other things, low-interest agricultural loans. At the same time, efforts are underway to find additional temporary storage capacities to prevent part of the harvest from being lost.
The battle over trade routes is meanwhile happening in both directions. Ukraine has expanded its attacks on Russian ports, ships, grain terminals, and oil facilities around the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. As a result, Russian exports are increasingly hindered, and the war over logistics routes is expanding further.