Ukrainian farmers may leave 20% of land unseeded due to port blockade — Bloomberg

Due to Russia’s blockade of Black Sea ports, Ukrainian farmers risk reducing plantings next year.

This was reported by Bloomberg, citing Kernel CEO Yevheniy Osipov.

Osipov, who heads the country’s largest grain producer and exporter, said that exports from Black Sea ports have nearly halted. This has forced Ukraine to put this year’s wheat and corn harvest into storage. According to him, over the past two months exports have fallen to less than 10% of their level at the start of the year. Farmers are being forced to store the harvest in plastic bags to preserve it.

With stockpiles at one million tons, farmers may leave a significant portion of fields unseeded next year, threatening a critical source of food for the world.

“The main question is: what are we going to do in the next planting season in spring? If there is no solution to the export problem, Ukraine will reduce production and will not sow around 20% of the land. That means 12 million tons of grain will not be produced,” Osipov said.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the country’s maritime shipping volumes had fallen three to four times after Russia blocked the grain corridor.