Polish port of Kolobrzeg joins transshipment of Ukrainian grain

In the third quarter of 2023, the small Polish seaport of Kolobrzeg, located on the Baltic Sea coast between Swinoujscie and Gdynia, resumed transshipment of Ukrainian grain, which affected the overall performance of its cargo. It is reported by Rynek infrastruktury.

According to the data, in July-September, the Polish port handled more than 73 thsd tonnes of cargo against 48 thsd tonnes in the same period of 2022. Accordingly, transshipment volumes increased by 52%.

The port handles wood, limestone, fertilizers, and crushed stone. However, grain cargo accounted for more than half of all volumes in the reporting period. They influenced the growth of transshipment. In particular, we are talking about corn and barley, which have been handled since July.

Last summer, the port administration expressed a desire to work with Ukrainian grain cargo. In April of this year, when the Polish authorities banned imports of Ukrainian grain but eventually allowed its transit, Kolobrzeg was initially not included in the list of ports that could handle Ukrainian grain transiting through Poland for export. But then this mistake was corrected.

“We have demonstrated that we are unpredictable in our actions as a country, so building long-term business relations is perceived as risky, as one resolution can turn everything upside down,” Artur Lievski, head of the Kolobrzeg port administration, commented earlier.

The port’s Q3 press release noted that although the Polish government quickly issued a new resolution in late April, including Kolobrzeg in the list of seaports through which grain transit from Ukraine is possible, “it took a long time to restore trust, and for some time no freight trains with Ukrainian products appeared in Kolobrzeg.” After a 3-month break, the first train with corn from Ukraine arrived at the port in late July.

Tags: Poland, Ukraine, export, grain