• Ukraine can unload its grain storage elevators if Black Sea ports operate at least at half capacity.
•  Ukraine must export approximately 70 million tonnes (metric tonnes) of goods until the harvest of next year.
• If three ships are currently carrying 57,000 tons, then in 30 days, we can easily achieve this result, or even more.

As the Ukrainian harvest begins, Agrarian Policy Minister Mykola Solskyi stated that the country can unload its grain storage elevators if the Black Sea ports operate at least at half capacity.

“If the military situation in the region is stable and everyone abides by the agreements, I am sure that it is possible,” Solskyi said.

“In recent days, we have raised our forecast for the harvest,” Solskyi said. “We will be able to collect 65-67 million tonnes. We will have to export about 50 million tonnes either as grain or in processed products such as meal and oil.”

“We have about 18-19 million tonnes left over from last season [2021-22],” he said.

Ukraine must export approximately 70 million tonnes (metric tonnes) of goods until the harvest of next year.

“This is about 5 million tonnes per month. The number is large, but it is common for Ukrainian business. Last month, without seaports, we increased exports to 3 million tons per month,” Solskyi said.

Grain traffic through the Black Sea is gradually increasing.

Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, said Friday that a bulk freighter en route to Ukraine to collect grain had passed inspection at the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul and is expected to arrive Saturday.

At a press conference on Friday, Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, discussed ships on their way to Turkey.

“We will see how quickly these three ships pass, and we will understand whether we can increase the volume of transportation to 3 million tonnes per month. If three ships are currently carrying 57,000 tons, then in 30 days, we can easily achieve this result, or even more,” he said.

The three bulk carriers departed Ukrainian ports early Friday morning.

Bodnar also suggested that further southward progress by Ukrainian forces could open up new shipping routes.

He said that if the military “can knock out the occupiers from the Kherson region, or at least from Kherson city, this will open up additional opportunities for transporting goods from Ukrainian ports — just as the liberation of Snake Island opened the possibility of this agreement.”

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