shippingposition
  • Home
  • News
  • Editorial
    • Vox Pop
  • Maritime safety
  • Oil and Gas
  • Personality
  • Health
No Result
View All Result
shippingposition

Home » Ukraine Could Lose $6 Billion in Grain Exports with Ports Blocked

Ukraine Could Lose $6 Billion in Grain Exports with Ports Blocked

by Joshua
March 23, 2022
in News

Ukraine faces a possible grain revenue loss of $6 billion as the blockade of its ports by Russian forces prevents it from selling millions of tonnes of wheat and corn that had been earmarked for export by June, a senior industry official said.

Countries that rely on imports of Ukrainian wheat – including Egypt, Turkey and Yemen – will need to find alternative supplies, aid agencies have warned.

Ukraine

Ukraine, a major producer of grain and oilseeds, exports 98% of its cereals through its ports and only a fraction by rail, where costs are higher.

The country was the world’s fourth largest grain exporter in the 2020/21 season while Russia ranked third, International Grains Council data shows. The two countries combined accounted for 22% of global exports.

But with Russian warships off Ukraine’s southern coast preventing cargo ships from leaving the ports, including the major hub of Odesa on the Black Sea, grain exports have all but ground to a halt since the start of the war on Feb. 24.

Ukrainian maritime officials said fighting had left around 100 foreign-flagged vessels stranded in the country’s ports.

“We are sitting on a potential loss of $6 billion,” Mykola Gorbachev, chairman of the Ukrainian Grain Association, told Reuters.

He said the country had around 20 million tonnes of wheat and corn still to export from the 2021/22 season, which ends in June, at an average price of around $300 per tonne.

He said there was no way Ukraine could transport that kind of volume by train, as the railway had a throughput capacity of some 600,000 tonnes per month, a tenth of what ports handled before the war.

Ukraine exported around $27 billion in agricultural products

in 2021, making up about half of its total export income.

“Now we are just losing this sector,” Gorbachev said.

The World Food Programme said on Friday that food supply chains in Ukraine were collapsing, with key infrastructure such as bridges and trains destroyed by bombs and many grocery stores and warehouses empty.

Russia, which has been hit by Western sanctions and has imposed export curbs, had been the world’s top wheat exporter in 2020/21 but may lose that mantle to the European Union in the current 2021/22 season, according to IGC forecasts.

The Ukrainian crisis will add further fuel to already rampant food inflation following global supply chain problems attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United Nations food agency reported this month that world food prices hit a record high in February, posting a 20.7% year-on-year rise.

Read Also:  Go After Importers Of Adulterated Petroleum, NLC Tells DSS

While Ukrainians who are not trapped in besieged cities like Mariupol or Kharkiv in the east are not at an immediate risk of food shortages, the war could disrupt agriculture for a long time.

Gorbachev said Ukrainian farmers may also be thinking twice before sowing new crops out of fear for their safety but also because their grains could go unsold if the war continues.

Ukrainian farmers – who produced a record grain crop last year – say they are short of fertilizer for the dormant winter wheat planted last autumn, and they also lack sufficient fuel to power their equipment.

Meanwhile the new crops of corn and barley must be planted over the next month or it will be too late, Gorbachev said.

At the weekend, presidential adviser Oleh Ustenko said Ukraine may not produce enough crops to export if the invasion disrupts this year’s sowing campaigns.

“Ukraine has enough grain and food reserves to survive for a year, but if the war continues … (it) will not be able to export grain to the world, and there will be problems,” he said.

The country has started sowing spring grain in some areas but no mass sowing campaign has yet started, deputy agriculture minister Taras Vysotskiy told Reuters last week.

shippingposition

Kindly like us on Facebook


Tags: Ukraine

Related Posts

Tariff Fears Drive Q1 Import Boom, Says WTO

CDS Urges Communities To Protect Pipelines

July 16, 2025
18 Years After: FG To Commence Disbursement Of $350 Million CVFF Funds With Immediate Effect 

Oyetola’s Aide,Mariners President Signpost Buhari’s Impact In Maritime Sector

July 16, 2025
Tariff Fears Drive Q1 Import Boom, Says WTO

Tariff Fears Drive Q1 Import Boom, Says WTO

July 16, 2025
Aliko Dangote Submits Paperwork To Build Nigeria’s Largest Seaport In Ogun

Nigeria Ramps Up Campaign for IMO Category C Seat, Showcases Maritime, Aviation Potential on Global Stage

July 15, 2025

Latest News

Tariff Fears Drive Q1 Import Boom, Says WTO

CDS Urges Communities To Protect Pipelines

July 16, 2025

Oyetola’s Aide,Mariners President Signpost Buhari’s Impact In Maritime Sector

Tariff Fears Drive Q1 Import Boom, Says WTO

Nigeria Ramps Up Campaign for IMO Category C Seat, Showcases Maritime, Aviation Potential on Global Stage

WCO Chairmanship: Afam Chukwuma Hails Adeniyi’s Appointment as Major Boost for Nigeria’s Customs and Economy

Aliko Dangote Submits Paperwork To Build Nigeria’s Largest Seaport In Ogun

Nigeria Customs Boss Extols Late Buhari’s Legacy Of Discipline

Vessels Expected At Lagos Ports As At 14th July, 2025

Duty-Free, But Not Trouble-Free: Mixed Reactions Trail UK’s Trade Window For Nigerian Exports

At Last, Lekki-Epe Corridor Stakeholders Agree On August 1st Enforcement Date For E-Call-Up 

Nigeria Losing Billions To Boat Importation As Indigenous Operators Urge Local Shipbuilding Drive

Court Ruling Against CRFFN’s Regulatory Powers Tears Customs Brokers Apart   

kindly like our Facebook page

Health

The Usefulness Of Watermelon Seeds You May Not Know
Health

The Usefulness Of Watermelon Seeds You May Not Know

July 14, 2025

Watermelon is one fruit that’s hard to resist when it gets too hot. It’s sweet and is high in water...

KNOW YOUR BODY PARTS: THE HEART

KNOW YOUR BODY PARTS: THE HEART

June 30, 2025
Why Your Favourite Seasoning Cubes May Be Hurting Your Kidneys

Why Your Favourite Seasoning Cubes May Be Hurting Your Kidneys

June 30, 2025
Contraceptive Pills Can’t Cause Cervical Cancer – Expert

Contraceptive Pills Can’t Cause Cervical Cancer – Expert

June 30, 2025
ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

KNOW YOUR BODY PARTS: The Liver

June 16, 2025
ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

June 16, 2025
Why Prostate Disorder Cases Are Increasing Among Nigerian Men – Experts

Why Prostate Disorder Cases Are Increasing Among Nigerian Men – Experts

June 1, 2025
20m Nigerians Live With Mental Health Issues, Says WHO

20m Nigerians Live With Mental Health Issues, Says WHO

June 1, 2025
Health Facts You Didn’t Know

How Your Habit Affects Fertility

May 19, 2025
Fruits For Raining Season

Fruits For Raining Season

May 19, 2025

© 2021 Shippingposition

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Coast To Coast
  • Oil and Gas
  • Maritime Education
  • The Terminals
  • Maritime safety

© 2021 Shippingposition