Farmers lose from €50 to €90 per ton due to blockade of Ukrainian ports, — UCAB

The association emphasized that the logistics, which is currently being rebuilt for agricultural exports, cannot fully replace the Black Sea ports.

The added cost of delivery to alternative locations is from 50 to 90 euros per ton, said Oleh Khomenko, CEO of the UCAB association.

According to him, alternative routes are also difficult in terms of their economics and throughput.

“The increase in the cost of delivery makes Ukrainian grain less profitable on the market, washes money out of farmers and reduces the inflow of foreign exchange into the country. The situation is complicated by the fact that the autumn sowing season is just beginning, when farmers urgently need funds, and there is nowhere to store and sell grain. The hardest time will be in December and January, and if the ports never work, then in the spring farmers simply will not have money to sow the fields,” said Oleg Khomenko.

He also emphasized the increase in Ukrzaliznytsia’s tariffs by 30%. This further increases the cost of logistics for agricultural enterprises that export their products.

“The above decision must be reviewed. And temporarily we must come to the conclusion that this tariff increase must be canceled at the government level or at the Ukrzaliznytsia level, in order to alleviate the situation with liquidity and the cost of logistics for agricultural and other enterprises that export their products,” the CEO of UCAB emphasized.

As previously reported by USM, Ukrainian business loses about $450 thousand daily due to the queue at Sulina. About 90% of vessels waiting to pass through the canal are already on demurrage.