BY MERVE KORNİK
Rising attacks on the ports of Odesa have led to a sharp decline in Ukraine’s wheat and corn exports.
The Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation (UAC) said that Russia’s drone and missile strikes on ports this month have severely disrupted Ukraine’s food exports. Despite efforts to reroute shipments via rail, trade volumes have dropped significantly.
Ukraine is among the world’s leading exporters of wheat and corn and ranks first in sunflower oil exports. However, near-daily attacks on ports in the Odesa region have sharply reduced export capacity.
Sharp decline in grain exports
According to UAC data, only 375,000 tons of the 1 million tons of wheat scheduled for export in December were shipped. In corn, 1.5 million tons were delivered out of contracted volumes totaling 2 million tons. Sunflower oil exports also fell short, with just 275,000 tons shipped out of an agreed 410,000 tons. Experts say total exports by the end of the month are unlikely to exceed 350,000 tons.
The union reported that at least one of the country’s three main export ports has completely halted operations, while the others are operating at just 20% capacity. Damage to logistics routes linking Danube River ports has further limited alternative export channels.
In December last year, Ukraine exported 800,000 tons of wheat, 2.6 million tons of corn and 378,000 tons of sunflower oil. Between December 1 and 22 this year, total grain exports fell to 1.82 million tons, down from 2.88 million tons in the same period a year earlier.
The UAC added that some traders have postponed contracts to January and introduced quota arrangements at rail terminals, signaling that grain shipments may increasingly need to move across borders by land.
