The main owner of the terminal in Klaipeda, after buying out a share in Belarus, wants to refocus on Ukrainian grain

UkrAgroConsult

One of the largest cargo companies in the port of Klaipeda – Bulk Cargo Terminal (Biriu kroviniu terminalas, BKT) – has offered Ukraine its capacity for shipment of grain crops, said the main shareholder of BKT Igor Udovitsky (controls 70%).

“If an appropriate agreement is reached between all interested parties, then by the harvest of 2023 BKT could transship about 10 million tons of Ukrainian grain, or about a million tons per month,” Udovitsky said in a comment to BNS.

“Taking into account the fact that in August 2022 all sea terminals of three Ukrainian ports were able to ship about 1.6 million tons, the BKT offer is a real opportunity for Ukraine to significantly increase grain exports, and hence foreign exchange earnings,” he stressed. .

Currently, 30% of BKT shares are owned by the Belarusian fertilizer producer Belorussky, 65% by Vdovitsky indirectly and another 5% directly.

As reported, Udovitsky applied to the Competition Council of Lithuania (an antimonopoly service) for permission to buy a 30% stake in BKT and obtain sole control over the enterprise.

On Monday, he confirmed to BNS his intention to buy out the stake, but did not disclose the amount of the deal or other terms.

“After receiving all the necessary permits, the agreement will be completed before the end of this year. The parties do not disclose its terms,” ​​the businessman said.

In recent years, due to the port of Klaipeda, about 10-11 million tons of Belorussiya fertilizers were loaded onto ships per year, but they were lost due to Western sanctions,

The head of the freight company LTG Cargo of the Lithuanian Railway Group (Lietuvos gelezinkeliai, LTG) Egle Šime reported that the transportation of Ukrainian grain to the Klaipeda port can be a maximum of about 3 million tons per year – six trains of approximately 1.3 thousand tons per day.

Experts believe that now only about a million tons of Ukrainian grain can be transported through Lithuania per year, because logistics chains are not ready for more.

Meanwhile, the port of Klaipeda, where stevedores already ship small batches of Ukrainian grain, announces the possibility of increasing their transshipment to 8-9 million tons per year.

Tags: Ukraine, export, grain, Lithuania