The export of cereals from Ukraine through the Romanian port of Constanta plunged by 44% y/y to 3.5 million tonnes in January-May, as Ukraine resumed operations at its Odesa port, G4media.ro reported. 

In 2022, Ukrainian grain exports through Constanta, virtually nonexistent before the war, stood at 8.6 million tonnes, and they surged to 14 million tonnes in 2023, supported by investments financed by the port and port operators.

In August 2023, after Russia withdrew from the UN-brokered grain export agreement, Ukraine established an export corridor through its Danube ports – from where the grain was shipped by barges to Constanta and further through the Romanian and Bulgarian waters to Turkey. 

Thus, Constanta emerged as the most important alternative export route for Ukraine, given that grain can be sent to the Romanian port by trucks, rail, or barge on the Danube. But the port operators now see their business shrinking as the operations in Odesa were resumed.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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