The Ukrainian Grain Association – UGA has officially appealed to the European Commission’s Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to optimise alternative routes, the so-called Solidarity Roads, for grain exports from Ukraine to European ports with further shipment to third countries, the UGA press service reports.
In particular, the association proposed to the European Commission to increase exports via the Solidarity Route by 1-1.5 million tonnes per month, compensating for part of the costs of European carriers and ports transiting Ukrainian grain. This will significantly reduce the cost of grain transportation and enable Ukrainian farmers to export their surplus grain to countries that need Ukrainian grain at a break-even price and stabilise global food security.
Baltic States, Germany, Netherlands, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia
“Due to the disruption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative by the Russian Federation, Ukraine is facing an urgent need to further increase the capacity of the Solidarity Roads. This can be done by exporting grain through the ports of the Baltic States (Klaipeda and others), Germany (Rostock, Hamburg), the Netherlands (Rotterdam), Croatia (Rijeka), Italy (Trieste), and Slovenia (Koper). The development of these routes is actively supported by the European Commission,” the states UGA
It is worth noting that these routes are not used much due to the complexity and cost of logistics compared to other routes. The price difference is approximately 30-40 euros per ton.
Therefore, the UGA asks the EU to introduce “green corridors” for Ukrainian agricultural products to the seaports of the Baltic States, Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia, which will include:
- the transfer of sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary control from checkpoints on the border with Ukraine to the territory of the country of destination, which will ensure a significant increase in exports;
- introduction of subsidies from the European Commission to compensate European carriers for additional logistics costs for transit transportation and partial compensation for European ports – the so-called port costs for Ukrainian grain.