Despite the resumption of the grain initiative, rail deliveries of grain to Black Sea ports have sharply declined

Ukrzaliznytsia has recorded a significant reduction in railcar deliveries of grain to the ports of Greater Odesa, despite the resumption of the grain corridor, the company’s commercial operations department said.

“Previously, the daily unloading of grain wagons in Odesa region ports was 700-900 cars, but now it has dropped to 92 cars. In May, the average daily unloading of grain wagons amounted to 243 cars. As of May 22, 962 railcars with grain cargo were moving toward the ports of Greater Odesa, and the waiting time in the queue was 10.5 days,” the statement said.

The port of Izmail, which is an alternative to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, is facing a critical situation with accumulated railcars. As of May 17, 2,428 railcars with grain cargo were moving toward the port, while only 94 railcars were being unloaded. Due to the change of vessels under loading, the average daily unloading rate in May decreased to 87 railcars, so the waiting time for unloading increased to 25.8 days.

Another reason for the accumulation of wagons in the port of Izmail is the reorientation of cargo flows due to the blocking of the grain corridor and restrictions on exports to neighboring countries.

In addition, the low level of technical support for operators (lack of covered warehouses, powerful unloading equipment) and the high dependence of the port on weather conditions slow down the work.

Tags: rail transportation, grain