Post by account_disabled on Feb 25, 2024 3:21:50 GMT -5
Over the past two months, Russia has launched waves of drone attacks against Ukrainian Danube ports. Their aim has been to cripple Ukraine's economic infrastructure and established export routes to break Moscow's naval blockade in the Black Sea, kyiv and its Western allies say. Ukraine, which produces half of the world's sunflower oil exports and 10 percent of its wheat, has exported around 35 million tonnes of grain across the Danube in the past 12 months. Along with rail transport across Europe, this has provided vital economic support for the country's war effort against the Russian invaders. But how long Ukrainian companies will be able to absorb the additional cost of these alternative routes has become a pressing question, especially after Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 17 suspended a UN-brokered deal that had allowed the safe export of million tons of Ukrainian grain across the Black River.
Russian drone and missile attacks in Ukraine have also destroyed 280,000 tonnes of grain in storage since July, according to the UK government. “It makes less and less sense for Ukrainian farmers to grow crops because they Job Function Email Database simply lose money,” said Yevgen Osypov, CEO of Kernel, one of Ukraine's largest agribusiness companies. The high costs would undermine Ukraine's grain production and lead to exports halving in 2024 from last year's levels to around 35 million tonnes, he predicted. International wheat prices fell 3.8 percent in August compared to July, according to the UN FAO Food Price Index, meaning prices are now well below the levels they reached last year following Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine. But Osypov feared that when the market realizes the magnitude of the looming deficit next year, global food prices would soar once again. He called it "a big game for Russia" with tragic consequences for world hunger. A grain warehouse in Ukraine damaged by a Russian drone attack.
Drone and missile attacks have destroyed 280,000 tons of grain stored in Ukraine since July © Operational Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Reuters The diversion of Ukrainian exports across the Danube has been a logistical task of Herculean proportions. There are so many trucks transporting grain to Izmail and the nearby Danube port of Reni that queues can last 35 kilometres. To preserve the road surface during the summer, they can only travel at night or when daytime temperatures are below 28°C. The grain is then loaded onto barges and navigated along inland waterways to the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta, where the cargo is loaded onto larger sea tankers. It also involves significant costs. Viktor Berestenko, president of Ukraine's international transporters association, estimates that exporting a ton of grain to Egypt via the Danube costs about $116 per ton, compared to about $69 before the Russian invasion last year. Even when the Russian grain deal was in place, the slowness of Russian inspectors tasked with checking Ukrainian shipments at sea meant that shipping costs were not much lower.
Russian drone and missile attacks in Ukraine have also destroyed 280,000 tonnes of grain in storage since July, according to the UK government. “It makes less and less sense for Ukrainian farmers to grow crops because they Job Function Email Database simply lose money,” said Yevgen Osypov, CEO of Kernel, one of Ukraine's largest agribusiness companies. The high costs would undermine Ukraine's grain production and lead to exports halving in 2024 from last year's levels to around 35 million tonnes, he predicted. International wheat prices fell 3.8 percent in August compared to July, according to the UN FAO Food Price Index, meaning prices are now well below the levels they reached last year following Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine. But Osypov feared that when the market realizes the magnitude of the looming deficit next year, global food prices would soar once again. He called it "a big game for Russia" with tragic consequences for world hunger. A grain warehouse in Ukraine damaged by a Russian drone attack.
Drone and missile attacks have destroyed 280,000 tons of grain stored in Ukraine since July © Operational Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Reuters The diversion of Ukrainian exports across the Danube has been a logistical task of Herculean proportions. There are so many trucks transporting grain to Izmail and the nearby Danube port of Reni that queues can last 35 kilometres. To preserve the road surface during the summer, they can only travel at night or when daytime temperatures are below 28°C. The grain is then loaded onto barges and navigated along inland waterways to the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta, where the cargo is loaded onto larger sea tankers. It also involves significant costs. Viktor Berestenko, president of Ukraine's international transporters association, estimates that exporting a ton of grain to Egypt via the Danube costs about $116 per ton, compared to about $69 before the Russian invasion last year. Even when the Russian grain deal was in place, the slowness of Russian inspectors tasked with checking Ukrainian shipments at sea meant that shipping costs were not much lower.