World Grain reported that Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania have reached an agreement to allow the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products through Poland to third countries, moving product inspections from the Polish border to a Lithuanian port.
The October 3 report states that as part of the agreement between the three nations, Poland will directly take Ukrainian grain exports to markets in Africa and the Middle East, rather than checking first at the Poland-Ukraine border.
“In the next two days, all agricultural cargo destined for the port of Klaipeda (Lithuania) will have veterinary, sanitary and phytosanitary control transferred from the Ukrainian-Polish border to the port. This will speed up transit through Poland,” said Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solskyi.
According to the report, Solskyi reached the agreement during a regular online meeting on October 2 with Polish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Robert Telus and Lithuanian Minister of Agriculture Kęstutis Navickas.
Ukraine faces challenges in exports
Ukraine has struggled to export its grain since Russia's February 2022 invasion and subsequent blockade of its ports, World Grain wrote.
Meanwhile, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary extended their import bans on Ukrainian grain, which they said was flooding local markets and depressing prices, the report said.
However, they authorized the continuation of transit of Ukrainian agricultural products to other countries.
In the current context, Ukraine's grain exports between September 1 and 24 fell by 51%. This is based on data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture, as cited by Reuters.
During the period, the country's grain exports totaled 1.57 million tons. This represented a sharp drop compared to the previous year's volume of 3.21 million tons, as stated in the September 25 report.
Traders and agricultural unions mention in the report that the blockade of Black Sea ports has affected exports. Additionally, Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports on the Danube River were also a significant factor. These events led to a reduction in exports.
Ministry data showed that Ukraine has exported a total of 6.2 million tonnes of grain so far in the July-June 2023/24 season, compared with 7.5 million tonnes in the same period last season.
Ukraine redirects grain exports due to Russian conflict
The volume included almost 3 million tons of wheat, 2.5 million tons of corn and 599,000 tons of barley.
Traditionally, Ukraine ships most of its exports through its Black Sea deep-water ports.
Reuters reported that Russia ended the agreement brokered by the United Nations (UN) and Turkey that allowed such exports in July. Russia withdrew from the deal, saying its demands for easing sanctions on its own grain and fertilizer exports had not been met.
Ukraine currently faces export restrictions. It uses small river ports on the Danube and its western land border with the European Union, as indicated in a report.
In addition, Russian airstrikes caused “significant damage” to the infrastructure of the Black Sea port of Odessa. They also affected grain storage facilities, according to Ukrainian officials. The information was reported on September 25 by Reuters.
The governor of the Odessa region is Oleh Kiper. He said he found almost 1,000 tonnes of grain in the affected facilities. Rescue teams discovered the bodies of two men under the rubble of a warehouse. The grains were stored in this warehouse.
Reuters wrote that by 2023 Ukraine was expected to harvest at least 80 million tons of grains and oilseeds. Furthermore, the exportable surplus for 2023/24 totaled around 50 million tonnes.
Source: Oils & Fats International
