Ukraine's farmers despair as Russia's Black Sea blockade traps their harvest
Exports via Ukraine’s Black Sea ports have nearly stopped as Russian strikes intensify, leaving farmers with full silos and threatening next season’s planting.
- Russian strikes on Black Sea port infrastructure and vessels have nearly halted Ukraine's agricultural exports, with grain shipments plunging 75% year-on-year in early August.
- Following Russia's 2023 exit from a United Nations-brokered grain agreement, Ukraine launched its own "grain corridor" through the waters of NATO-members Romania and Bulgaria to maintain shipments.
- Farmer Serhiy Rybalko reports full storage and no buyers, saying "There is nowhere to send this grain. This is a complete disaster for farmers." Storage shortages could reach 11 million tons.
- Ukraine's central bank predicts a $2.5 billion loss in hard currency revenue this year, while farmers face about $3 billion in additional logistics costs from the blockade.
- Alternative export routes through Poland and the Danube River face constraints from lower water levels and strained trade relations, threatening next year's harvest as storage silos remain nearly full.
32 Articles
32 Articles
Ukrainian cereal shipments have plummeted to 75 per cent in the first two weeks of August as attacks escalated.
While families were walking recently along a sidewalk in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, a single cargo ship sailed far away. Suddenly, a drone fell from the blue sky and hit the boat, making a column of smoke spread across the horizon. The attack, which I witnessed at the end of July, was part of a Russian campaign against cargo ships that disrupted almost all maritime transport from Odessa, Ukraine's main link to the world economy. Exclusiv…
Russia Has Stepped Up Attacks on Cargo Ships
Attacks in the Black Sea are rippling far beyond Ukraine's shoreline. Russia's stepped-up attacks on cargo ships near Odesa have effectively frozen traffic at Ukraine's main ports, threatening to trap millions of tons of grain at the start of harvest and disrupt global food supplies. Ukrainian officials say at least...
This season, more than half of the planned export harvest may remain in Ukraine due to the difficulty of exporting through ports.
Ukraine requested a EUR 220 million grant from the European Union for its farmers, on the grounds that they are facing further difficulties due to Russian attacks and drought, the European Commission announced on Thursday.
Ukraine asks the EU for €220 million to unlock €4 billion in farm loans as Russia’s port strikes choke exports
Ukraine and international partners agreed to work urgently on a mechanism for up to €4 billion ($4.6 billion) in farm loans, Ukrinform reported on 13 August. The plan would use a proposed €220 million ($253 million) EU grant, the Agriculture Ministry said. Ukraine rebuilt its maritime trade after pushing Russia’s fleet away from its coast. By 2025, its Black Sea route carried about 92% of the country’s grain and oilseed exports. Russia is now st…
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