BRUSSELS: In spite of the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports under a United Nations and Turkish-brokered agreement between Kiev and Moscow, the European Union plans to resume its efforts to create alternative freight routes for Ukrainian grain exports.
Despite the reopening of marine routes, it will be difficult for Ukrainian exports to immediately reach pre-war levels, and other export routes are still essential, an official from the EU Commission said.
Adina Valean, the European Commission's commissioner for transport, emphasised that there was "room for improvement" in the other routes being developed, citing a dearth of freight waggons, barge operators, and storage facilities for Ukrainian produce.
Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in February, the European Commission reports that Ukraine was the world's greatest exporter of sunflower oil, the third largest exporter of rapeseed and barley, the fourth largest exporter of maize, and the fifth largest exporter of wheat.
A return to normal Ukrainian agricultural exports via the Black Sea is now anticipated as a result of the agreement with Russia. Before the war, up to 5 million tonnes of grain per month were passing through Ukraine's Black Sea ports, as per EU statistics.
However, with just 26,000 tonnes of maize on board the first ship to depart the port of Odessa as part of the UN agreement, reaching that level again in the near future is thought to be extremely unlikely.
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