Ukraine seeks EU support for alternative agricultural export routes

Ukraine has asked the EU to support alternative agricultural export routes amid prolonged restrictions on the operation of the deep-water ports of Greater Odesa. According to the Agriculture Ministry, existing alternative routes are unable to fully handle the volumes that need to be exported.

Kyiv has proposed that the European Commission establish a special mechanism to support the transport of Ukrainian grain deeper into the EU and onward to more distant European ports. Ukraine is seeking EUR 1.1 bln for this purpose.

The funds would compensate for additional logistics costs, which can reach EUR 50/t. The support would not be paid directly to Ukrainian farmers, but could go to European carriers and logistics companies involved in transporting the cargo.

The government estimates that such support could enable an additional 22 mln tons of agricultural products to be exported and generate more than $7–8 bln in revenue for Ukrainian producers. Without expanded alternative logistics, more than 30 mln tons of agricultural products worth around $10 bln could remain unexported.

Ukraine stresses that the main objective of the proposed mechanism is to ensure the transit of agricultural products through the EU to third-country markets. Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said neighboring EU markets are not the target destinations for Ukrainian exports.

Tags: EU, alternative routes, Ukraine, grain