Grain export routes sought by Ukraine

摘要

The crisis in Ukraine, coupled with a record-breaking 2013 grain harvest, is forcing the country to accelerate plants to build additional grain export capacity at its ports. With the 2013 grain harvest up 36.3% year-on-year to 63 Mt, Ukraine is set to export about 33 Mt in the marketing year ending June 2014, according to the country's agriculture ministry. However, having lost control of Crimea and the Strait of Kerch to Russia, Ukraine is looking to its continental Black Sea ports to handle grain and flour export volumes previously handled via the deepwater harbour of Sevastopol (Crimea) and the shallow ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk (Sea of Azov).