Romanian port can ship more Ukraine grain after collapse of Black Sea deal
Reuters :
Romania’s Constanta port, Ukraine’s main alternative route for grain since Russia’s withdrawal led to the collapse of the Black Sea shipment deal, has capacity to handle extra cargoes until mid-August, the head of the port’s business association said.
He added operators were also seeking to increase capacity.
Even before Russia on Monday quit a safe passage grain corridor through Ukraine’s own ports, Constanta had emerged as the biggest alternative shipping route. It has handled roughly a third of Ukraine’s grain exports since the start of the war.
Transit pressure will mount on Constanta, which traditionally handles Romania’s crop exports and those of its landlocked neighbours, including Hungary and Serbia.
Overall, it handled 15.25 million metric tonnes of grains in the first six months of this year, a 24.5 per cent increase on the same time last year, the Constanta Port Authority told Reuters. Ukrainian grains accounted for 7.5 million tonnes of the total. By comparison, Romanian port operators handled 8.6 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain in the whole of 2022.
Viorel Panait, the manager of port operator Comvex and the president of the Constanta Port Business Association, told Reuters a lag in domestic grain harvesting and the reluctance of some Romanian farmers to sell their crops at low prices meant capacity would be available for Ukrainian grain until mid-August.
“Harvesting in Romania starts slightly later than in Ukraine, which generates a pause between the two crops,” Panait said. “And some Romanian farmers are still holding onto their crops, so sales are stagnating at the moment.”
“This creates an availability of logistic capacity that Ukraine could benefit from.”
Panait also said operators of grain terminals have increased investment in equipment and management to boost operating capacity compared with the start of the war. At its peak so far, Constanta handled 25 million tonnes of grain per year, which Panait said will be exceeded in 2023.
