Economy

Almost the entire Black Sea has been placed within the Joint War Committee’s expanded military risk zone. For shipowners, this means longer periods of additional insurance coverage, and for cargo owners, a potential increase in freight and logistics costs.

USM spoke to market participants about how much the new risks will cost and how they could change Black Sea and Danube logistics.

Maersk has updated its container shipping rates between its Gdansk DCT terminal in Poland and a number of Ukrainian rail terminals.

Since the beginning of the 2026/27 marketing year, as of September 21, Ukraine has exported 4.662 million tons of grains and legumes, which is 22% less than in the same period last season.

While the world watches the Strait of Hormuz and oil, the crisis in the Black Sea is imperceptibly accelerating inflation and undermining the food security of vulnerable countries.

Russian companies have begun retooling terminals for fertilizers, coal and other cargoes in Baltic and Arctic ports to handle grain exports.

Russia remains one of the largest players in the global grain market, while its agricultural sector remains largely exempt from sanctions.

In Sulina and Tulcea, certain procedures for vessel clearance in the upstream and downstream directions of the Danube have been changed.

Ukraine can export about 1 million tons of wheat in September, but in October the load on logistics will increase significantly due to the intensification of corn supplies.

Agroholding Kernel became the initiator and the first test site for the development of a new type of modular granary.

Only 11.2 thousand tons of grain passed through the port terminals of Great Odesa in 15 days of September — 77.6% less than a month earlier.