Ukraine says almost 300,000 tonnes of grain destroyed since July in Russian attacks on ports and ships

Since Russia’s July withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) facilitating agricultural exports from Ukraine its military forces had hit six civilian ships and 150 port and grain facilities during 17 attacks, destroying crops due for export, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov was quoted as saying in a statement.

“This is Russia's attempt to deepen the food crisis in the countries which depend on Ukrainian products,” Kubrakov said, adding that the damage to Ukrainian ports had reduced the country’s grain export potential by 40%.

Reuters said the Russian Defence Ministry could not immediately be reached for comment at the time of its report.

Despite the attacks, Kubrakov said 21 grain-loaded vessels to date had used a new humanitarian grain corridor – introduced by Ukrainian authorities on 10 August to safeguard shipments to and from the Black Sea ports of Pivdennyi, Odessa and Chornomorsk (POC).

AgriCensus wrote on 9 October that grain export levels from Ukraine’s deep sea ports had increased to levels comparable with the start of the BSGI with approximately 800,000 tonnes loaded or expected to load to date.

Eight vessels carrying around 242,000 tonnes of grains and iron ore were recorded as leaving at the time of the 9 October report.

A further 14 vessels had arrived or were due to arrive into Ukrainian ports to date, with at least 560,000 tonnes of cargo expected to be exported, AgriCensus wrote.

The export rate was comparable to the flow during the first month following the introduction of the BSGI on 27 July 2022.

At the time of the AgriCensus report, it was not clear if the Ukrainian humanitarian corridor could maintain the same results or expand in the same way as the BSGI. In addition, there were some notable challenges, primarily the presence of Russian naval forces in the Black Sea.

Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk told an online media briefing on 4 October that Ukraine’s defence forces were doing everything to ensure the safety of civilian ships in their territorial waters and that they were proceeding into the waters of NATO members Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.

Traditionally, Ukraine has shipped most of its exports through its deepwater Black Sea ports although it has increased its volumes through its Danube river ports and via its western land border with the EU since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

Despite the logistical challenges facing Ukraine, the country’s total exports of oilseeds and their derivatives reported a year-on-year increase in the 2022/23 marketing year, according to a Fastmarkets report on 12 September.

From September 2022 to August 2023, Ukraine exported 5.6M tonnes of sunflower oil, 25% higher than in the previous season, according to Ukroliyaprom Association for Extraction and Processing of Fat and Oil Products data.

The BSGI had been in operation for most of the marketing year, but exports by land were also prominent last season and accounted for about 23% of total exports, the report said.

According to the European Commission, Ukraine increased its share in total EU sunflower oil imports to 89% in the September 2022-August 2023 season, compared with 82% in the previous season.

EU countries were now the leading importers of Ukrainian sunflower oil.

Turkey more than tripled its purchases of Ukrainian sunflower oil to 1.1M tonnes in the 2022/23 season, increasing its share to 19.2%, Ukroilprom data showed.

China’s sunflower oil purchases increased by 80% to 636,800 tonnes, while China’s share in Ukrainian sunflower oil exports increased to 11.3% compared to 7.9% in the 2021/22 season.

Exports to India fell by 41% to 612,700 tonnes, while India’s share of Ukrainian sunflower oil exports more than halved to 11%.

One of the world’s leading wheat, corn, barley and sunflower oil exporters, Ukraine is expected to produce 79M tonnes of grain and oilseeds in 2023, with 2023/24 exportable surplus stocks of about 50M tonnes, according to Reuters.