War presents diplomatic and logistical challenges as silos of world’s fifth-biggest wheat exporter fill up
Given the vast quantities involved, the majority of Ukrainian grain has always been transported by sea, which is desperately needed to feed the world, and which Kyiv urgently wants to sell to get its hands on vital foreign currency. Ukraine produces as much as half the world’s sunflower seeds, a tenth of its wheat and up to a fifth of barley and rapeseed.
Then there is the challenge of finding the armada of vessels to transport the grain. Agricultural goods are moved between continents in bulk cargo vessels, which can hold as much as 50,000 tonnes, poured into several large compartments in the ship’s hold. Export figures underline the scale of the challenge: before the war, between 5m and 6m tonnes of grain were exported each month from Ukraine’s seaports, according to the International Grains Council, an intergovernmental organisation that seeks to promote cooperation in the global grain trade.Photograph: Khaled Elfiqi/EPA
This means grain transported by rail has to be unloaded and put on a different train when it reaches Ukraine’s European borders. “There is a lot of money to be made and some companies are more relaxed about taking on more risk,” the source said.The availability of war insurance, to cover both ship and crew, will also be a determining factor in the success of any grain corridor.
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