Analyst from APK-Inform reported that Ukraine’s railways are dealing with a backlog of grain waggons on the country’s western border as traders seek alternate export routes after Russia’s invasion shut off the country’s key Black Sea ports.
According to International Grains Council data, Ukraine was the world’s fourth-largest grain exporter in the 2020/21 season, with the majority of its exports being exported out via the Black Sea.
However, with conflict raging along much of the coast, traders are scrambling to get more grain transported by rail.
Ukrainian Railways had opened 12 terminals for traders, according to APK-Inform, but waggons were backlogged, and the railways would need two or three weeks to process and transport them to customers.
‘Traders are still looking into the possibility of redirecting exports to the EU via rail or through Romanian ports,’ according to APK-Inform. ‘However, the main barriers remain limited bandwidth logistics capability and its high cost.’
The cost of transporting Ukrainian grain to the Romanian port of Constanta was 120-150 euros ($133-$166) per tonne, according to the report. Traders used to pay roughly $40 to ship grain to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports before the war.
According to analysts, Ukraine could only export around 1 million tonnes of grain in the next three months due to logistical difficulties. Ukraine had exported 43 million tonnes of grain from the start of the season in July until the invasion in late February.
Grain exports were expected to hit 65 million tonnes this season before the war, according to the administration.
Russia’s efforts in Ukraine are described as a ‘special military operation’ aimed at demilitarising the country. It is referred to as an unprovoked war of aggression by Western countries.
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