Danube ports shipped 1.75 million tons of grain in the first half of August

In the first 15 days of August, the ports of the Danube cluster shipped 1 million 750 thousand tons of agricultural products, and in July – more than 2 million tons.

This information was shared by the president of the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) Mykola Gorbachev in an interview with Agro Times.

“I am sure that blocking the waters of the Black Sea is temporary and the international community will open it for shipping. And for today, we will continue to export grain through the Danube ports – their work has not stopped, despite the fact that they are also constantly attacked by the enemy and there are security threats there as well,” Gorbachev noted.

According to the expert, on the Danube, Ukraine will be able to reach the figure of 3 million tons per month in September, when Romania will train more pilots. It is noted that there is currently a shortage of specialists who can guide cargo ships through the Sulina Channell.

“Also, we offered the coordinates of possible stops in Romanian territorial waters, in order to transship grain from a barge to a ship. But Bucharest believes that these could be risky grain transshipment operations due to possible storms in the fall. At the same time, Sulina port specialists are dredging, and in the next few months, the depth of the entrance to the sea in Sulina may reach 12 meters – this will be enough to transship grain from barges to Panamax and Handysize vessels directly in the Sulina Channel on Romanian territory. The Minister of Transport of Romania has already said that such operations would be less risky and they would agree to them,” said the head of UGA.

In addition to the Danube route, Ukraine will be able to export another 1 million tons of grain every month via alternative routes.