© Archyde.com/Valentyn Ogirenko
Archive image of a general view of the facilities in the port of Odessa, on the Black Sea
LVIV, UKRAINE, March 27 (Archyde.com) – Operators exported the first supplies of Ukrainian maize to Europe by train as the country’s seaports remain blocked due to the Russian invasion, agricultural consultancy APK-Inform said on Sunday.
Ukraine is one of the world’s leading grain producers and exporters, and almost all of its shipments have traditionally been shipped from ports on the Black Sea. Monthly grain shipments exceeded 5 million tons before the war.
Traders and agribusiness executives have said that Ukraine, which still has a significant volume of grain in stock, could start exporting by rail across its western border.
“The first batches of several thousand tons of maize have already been exported through Ukraine’s western land border,” APK-Inform said in a report.
“Difficulties with logistics persist, supply still prevails over demand, but prices have stopped falling,” he added.
APK-Inform said that the DAP (Delivered At Place) prices of Ukrainian maize for buyers from Poland and the Baltic States reached a range between $250 and $265 per tonne and $275 per tonne for Slovakia.
Ukraine’s transport authorities have said they could export up to 600,000 tonnes of grain to Europe by rail.
APK-Inform said last week that Ukraine’s grain exports could total 44 million tonnes in the 2021/22 season which runs from July to June. The consultancy expects only 1 million tons of grain to leave the country from March to June due to logistical problems.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk. Editing in Spanish by Marion Giraldo)