In the Bosphorus, 117 vessels with Ukrainian products are awaiting inspection

As of February 8, 117 ships with Ukrainian grain are waiting in the Bosphorus for inspection by the Joint Coordination Center.

Since the beginning of the year, the average number of inspections in the SCC is 2.5 vessels per day against 3.5 vessels in December 2022. Every day of downtime brings losses to farmers, as it leads to a drop in the purchase price, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy reported.

The Agricultural Logistics Coordinating Council considered options on how to reduce vessel idle time in the Bosphorus and increase exports.

In particular, the participants of the meeting proposed to increase the minimum tonnage of ships to 25 thousand tons, to introduce long-term planning of the work of terminals and operators, providing customers with a real line-up of ships. The market supported such proposals.

They also discussed заборону Укрзалізниці Ukrzaliznytsia’s ban on the use of private semi-wagons for grain transportation and the impact of this decision on farmers. Representatives of agricultural associations spoke out against such a ban and noted that they do not see any technological problems with the transportation of grain in semi-trailers.

Representatives of agrarian associations reported that the logistical costs of transporting grain remain too high and negatively affect the ability of farmers to sow grain crops in 2023. Therefore, they also initiated a revision of the established minimum price level of UAH 2,795/day at Dutch auctions for the use of grain trucks owned by JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” and an increase in the speed of freight wagons, in particular grain trucks.

The representatives of the Management Board accepted the mentioned comments and promised to offer options for solving the issues taking into account market realities after analyzing the situation.