The suspension of ship calls is already hitting the revenues of terminals, USPA, and farmers, — Ukrport

The actual suspension of ship calls to the ports of Great Odesa is already leading to losses for port terminals, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, and agricultural producers.

This was told to USM by the president of the Ukrport association, Dmytro Barinov.

According to him, there is currently no talk of idle ships: if the shipowner refuses to call at a Ukrainian port, the ship looks for another freight and heads to another direction. At the same time, the return of this fleet to the Ukrainian market may become a problem in the future.

Direct losses are already being suffered by port terminals that do not tranship cargo. The USPA is also losing income, since the lack of ship calls reduces revenues from port fees.

The most tangible consequences are for Ukrainian farmers. Due to the increase in logistics costs, purchase prices for grain are decreasing, and in some cases they may already be lower than the cost of production.

Barinov explained that in July-September, agricultural producers especially need working capital to pay rent for shares, purchase fuel, seeds and fertilizers, as well as harvest and prepare for a new sowing season. Usually, farmers cover part of these costs by selling the crop, but now it has become more difficult to sell the products.

As a result, farmers are forced to store grain in anticipation of better conditions, while at the same time fulfilling current financial obligations. That is why they are asking the state to provide preferential lending for the harvest and sowing period.

Additional pressure on the market is created by the expected harvest of over 80 million tons and the remnants of last season’s products. According to Barinov, after the start of active harvesting of corn and sunflower, the load on the domestic market and logistics will increase even more.

Earlier, USM reported that the environmental inspection is checking the condition of the water area after the sinking of a ship in Odesa.The Golden Leo, a corn-laden ship, was hit by a Russian attack on July 19 as it left the port of Odessa. The cargo ship became unseaworthy and sank on July 26 about five nautical miles off the coast of Odessa. Ten people died as a result of the attack.