Ukraine and Lithuania expand cooperation on agricultural exports and grain storage

Ukraine and Lithuania have agreed to strengthen cooperation on agricultural exports, alternative logistics routes, temporary grain storage and efforts to prevent the illegal trade of agricultural products from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories. The issues were discussed by Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi and Lithuania’s Minister of Agriculture Kęstutis Mažeika.

According to Vysotskyi, due to the effective suspension of agricultural exports through the Greater Odesa ports following Russian attacks, Ukraine was able to export only about one-third of its potential agricultural export volume in August. Railways, the Danube and the EU Solidarity Lanes are helping maintain shipments, but their capacity is insufficient to fully replace maritime exports.

If the situation with seaborne exports does not improve, more than 30 mln tons of Ukrainian agricultural products could remain unexported over the course of a year, while financial losses could exceed $10 bln. This poses risks to farmers’ revenues and their ability to finance the next production cycle. Ukraine has also asked Lithuania for assistance with temporary grain storage.

The two sides also discussed efforts to combat illegal grain exports from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories. Ukraine estimates this year’s grain harvest in these territories at around 9.5–10 mln tons and is calling for stronger checks on the origin of grain that may be transported from Russia through Baltic ports. Ukraine is also interested in extending Lithuania’s control practices to other Baltic countries.

Lithuania confirmed its readiness to continue supporting Ukraine’s agricultural sector and is considering practical options to assist with temporary crop storage. The two countries also agreed to coordinate the development of alternative export routes and cooperation at the level of EU agriculture ministers.

Tags: Ukraine, grain, EU, agricultural products, grain storage