Ukraine could export up to 20 mln tons of grain via Baltic ports — Vysotskyi

Ukraine could potentially export up to 20 mln tons of grain through Baltic ports, but high logistics costs remain the main obstacle, Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said following talks with the Estonian side.

Shipping Ukrainian grain through the ports of Gdansk, Klaipeda, Liepaja or Hamburg adds around $100/t to logistics costs. At this level, Ukrainian agricultural producers cannot cover the additional cost of the alternative route on their own.

According to the Ukrainian side, around $1.5–2 bln would be needed to compensate for these additional costs. Ukraine has already approached the EU and other international partners with a proposal to provide financial support for the Baltic route.

Alternative routes currently handle around 44% of Ukraine’s required agricultural export volumes. Their share could potentially rise to 50%, but further expansion without the full operation of Black Sea ports remains difficult.

Ukraine and Estonia also discussed mechanisms for verifying grain origin and the use of European logistics infrastructure. Ukraine is ready to share a grain-origin verification methodology developed jointly with the United Kingdom.

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Tags: Ukraine, export, grain, grain export, Baltic