Ukraine has reduced food exports due to strikes on ports – Reuters

Ukrainian food exports have fallen sharply due to intensified Russian attacks on ports in recent weeks. This could lead to a significant decline in trade volumes despite efforts to reroute shipments to rail transport.

Reuters reports this, citing the Association of Farmers and Private Landowners of Ukraine.

Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat and corn, and the largest exporter of sunflower oil. Because of a surge in near-daily Russian drone and missile attacks on ports in Odesa region, export capacity has decreased. As a result, some wheat exporters have already breached delivery contracts this month.

According to the association’s estimates, at least one of the three key export ports is either idle or operating at only 20% capacity. Logistics routes connecting the rest of Ukraine to the Danube ports have also been damaged. The river ports have helped compensate for the loss of major seaports since the start of the war.

According to the association, as of December 22 only 375,000 metric tons of wheat had been exported out of 1 million tons contracted for shipment over the entire month. For corn, 1.5 million tons have been shipped out of 2 millioncontracted. For sunflower oil, 275,000 tons have been shipped out of 410,000 contracted, and total exports for the month are unlikely to exceed 350,000 tons.

“Some traders are allowing wheat delivery obligations to go unfulfilled, and some contracts are being rolled over to January because port throughput is insufficient,” the association said.

In December last year, Ukraine exported 800,000 tons of wheat, 2.6 million tons of corn, and 378,000 tons of sunflower oil.

On Monday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy said total grain exports fell to 1.82 million tons from December 1–22 this year, compared with 2.88 million tons from December 1–27 last year—mainly due to reduced shipments of corn and wheat.