The halt of the sea corridor since late July has caused Ukraine’s grain exports to fall, with exports totaling 590,000 tonnes, or 30% of need, in the Aug. 1-12 period, Agrarian Policy Minister Taras Vysotsky said at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday.
"From Aug. 1 to 12 we exported 590,000 tonnes. That’s about 30% of need. We expect to be able to reach 50% going forward… with all the corresponding effects on international balances," the minister said.
He said there are opportunities to partially increase exports, but that even so, without the resumption of Black Sea port operations, exports would reach only up to 50% of need.
He said the Danube route currently cannot operate at full capacity due to drought, and that reaching its capacity of around 1.5 million tonnes a month is possible closer to the end of the year.
The minister said Ukraine currently has sufficient permanent grain storage capacity, but that a shortfall of 8 million to 11 million tonnes could emerge in November after the corn harvest, which officials hope to cover with temporary storage capacity. A request for $10 million in funding for this has already been sent to international partners, Vysotsky said.
He said it is still difficult to predict how quickly sea exports can be restored.
