Ukraine plans to increase agricultural exports via Hamburg and Rostock ports

Ukraine and Germany have discussed opportunities to increase Ukrainian agricultural exports through the German ports of Hamburg and Rostock. The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine reported this following a meeting with German Ambassador Boris Ruge and Agricultural Attaché Yvonne Gall. The parties explored the development of alternative logistics routes amid restrictions on Black Sea exports.

According to the ministry, Ukraine exported nearly 2.5 mln tons of agricultural products in September, representing just 46% of the required volume. Under current conditions, this is effectively the maximum capacity of alternative routes, which cannot fully replace Ukraine’s seaports.

One of the main obstacles remains the high cost of transportation to distant European ports. In particular, shipping Ukrainian grain via alternative routes can increase logistics costs by approximately €50/t. As a result, some export shipments become economically unviable.

Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi stressed the need to establish a mechanism to compensate for additional logistics costs within the EU. According to him, such support would enable Ukrainian exporters to make greater use of European transport infrastructure and expand their export destinations.

The ministry estimates that introducing a compensation mechanism could potentially increase Ukraine’s agricultural exports by 1 mln tons per month. Using the ports of Hamburg and Rostock could become part of Ukraine’s export diversification strategy, although its economic feasibility will depend on addressing additional transportation costs.

Tags: Ukraine, export, Germany, ports