Ukraine. Grain wagons unloading increased in the ports of Greater Odesa

The unloading of wagons with agricultural products is growing in the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk. This was discussed during a meeting of representatives of Ukrzaliznytsia and the grain market on May 25.

According to Valeriy Tkachev, Deputy Director of the Commercial Department at Ukrzaliznytsia, this week there has been an increase in the number of railcars moving towards the ports of Greater Odesa. At the beginning of the week, there were 900 of them, and now there are 1512.

The volume of unloading is also growing. “The average figure was about 92 railcars. The day before yesterday (May 23), 99 railcars were unloaded. And yesterday (May 24) – 186 cars. That is, grain unloading in the ports of Greater Odesa has almost doubled,” the official emphasized.

He also expressed hope that this trend will continue. “And the ports will reach the same level as before (almost 900 railcars per day). But this will not be possible until Pivdennyi port, which handled the largest volume of grain cargo, starts operating. So we are waiting for a decision on Pivdennyi port,” said Valery Tkachev.

The UZ representative also spoke about the situation in the port of Izmail. At the beginning of the week, 2,428 railcars with grain were moving towards this port, and now it is 2,215. On May 23, only 60 railcars were unloaded due to rain, while on May 24, 106 railcars were unloaded. So the queue is now 21 days long.

Volodymyr Kotelin, Head of the Directorate for Port Stations of the Odesa Railways Regional Branch (DN-5), spoke about the resumption of the grain corridor. Between May 19 and today, 14 vessels have passed the commission. Of these, eight were for the port of Odesa and six for Chornomorsk. Today, six vessels are in the inspection area (two for the port of Odesa and four for Chornomorsk). Also, 12 are registered for inspection today, and another 36 are awaiting registration for inspection.

In addition, Valeriy Tkachev said that the transfer of grain wagons through the Yahodyn-Dorogusk border crossing has begun. These railcars have been idle since April.

In total, during the 24 days of May, the loading of grain on the UZ network amounted to only 914 thousand tons. At the same time, 973 thousand tons were transported for export. Of this amount, 720 thousand tons were transported to ports, and 253 thousand tons were transported through western border crossings.

Tags: grain, Black Sea grain corridor, rail transportation