Development of the Bystre mouth on the Danube will increase grain exports by 1 million tons

UkrAgroConsult

The development of the Bystre mouth, a Ukrainian canal to the Black Sea, will increase exports through the Danube by 1 million tons. This was announced by Yuriy Vaskov, Deputy Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development.

“This infrastructure decision will not have any negative consequences. It is only positive for all the countries through which the Danube flows,” said the Deputy Minister. Vaskov also emphasized the need to organize round-the-clock operation of the Solina Canal in Romania, which currently operates only 17 hours a day, which affects the pace of work and significantly slows it down.

“There are so many ships at the Romanian mouth of the Solina and the Ukrainian mouth of the Bystre that this route needs to be developed. This is primarily a revenue stream for the Romanian budget,” he emphasized.

According to the Deputy Minister, the key issue in increasing the Danube’s export capacity is the organization of raid transshipment in Romanian territorial waters.

The implementation of these three components will allow exporting another million tons of agricultural cargo via the Danube to the current 2.2-2.3 million tons transported monthly, he explained.

“The task of the Ukrainian side is to agree with Romania on the possibility of transportation of Ukrainian agricultural products by the Ukrainian Danube fleet to the raid point indicated by the Romanian side. Technically, this issue can be resolved if there is political will within a week,” explained Vaskov.

According to him, Ukraine needs to obtain the consent of the Romanian side before taking any action, as it is mandatory under the ESPOP Convention, to which Ukraine has acceded. Ukraine is supported by the European Commission in this matter. The Ukrainian government is waiting for the new Romanian government to start working and plans to hold a meeting to discuss a range of issues related to the movement of agricultural goods along the Danube.

Tags: Ukraine, export, grain, Danube ports