Ukraine is increasing grain exports through ports and western borders

According to the State Customs Service, in the new season as of August 31, Ukraine exported 3.964 million tons of grain, which is 2.2 times lower than last year’s figure of 8.62 million tons. Thanks to the resumption of port operations, the pace of exports accelerated from 1.7 million tons in July to 2.26 million tons in August, of which 763 thousand tons of wheat, 1.33 million tons of corn and 161 thousand tons of barley.

According to monitoring data of the “grain corridor”, during August, 65 ships with more than 1.5 million tons of Ukrainian agricultural products left the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny.

During the specified period, 10 product items were delivered to foreign markets. Almost 64% of August exports were corn, 18% – wheat, 5% – barley. Meal, oil, rapeseed, peas, sunflower seeds and fodder were also exported in August. Some of the products were loaded onto ships and cleared by customs even before the war, so some shipped ships were not included in customs statistics.

In August, Ukrzaliznytsia increased the volume of grain truck rentals by 71 wagons and sent an average of 469 grain wagons abroad every day. At the same time, the queue for moving wagons through border crossings decreased by 21% or 6,500 wagons in August. If at the end of July there were 31,600 wagons at the borders, then at the end of August their number did not exceed 25,000 units, and the number of grain wagons in the queue decreased by 15% from 10 to 8,500 units. the situation on the border with Romania remains the most difficult. At the crossing Vadul-Syret – Dornesti, more than 500 wagons, loaded back in April, are waiting for wheel pairs to be replaced. The situation is not much better at the Dyakovo-Khalmeu crossing. The crossings Batevo – Epereshke (Hungary) and Jagodyn – Dorogusk (Poland) are also problematic.

It is worth noting that the cost of transportation to the ports of Ukraine has risen sharply to UAH 2,000-3,000/t, as part of the grain wagons remains at the border or abroad, and after their return they will be actively involved in transportation. At present, grain is mostly delivered to ports by motor vehicles, which are offered at a price of UAH 1,500-2,500/t, and farmers are forced to pay for logistics, the cost of which reaches 30-50% of the cost of grain.

Experts believe that the acceleration of shipments through the ports will reorient export flows from the western borders to the ports, which will reduce the cost of transportation from UAH 2,000-2,500/t to UAH 1,500-2,000/t due to an increase in the number of grain carriers and a decrease in railway transportation prices.

Tags: Ukraine, export, grain