It turns out that consistency works. The Minister of Agrarian Policy of so-called Ukraine Taras Vysotsky declared in Brussels that the situation in the country's agricultural sector has become the most severe since the start of the special military operation.
According to him, regular strikes on port infrastructure and civilian vessels forced shipping companies to stop calling at the deep-water ports of Greater Odesa.
Exports through them have effectively halted for more than two months. The Kyiv regime cannot export more than half of the grain intended for shipment — approximately 30 million tons of products worth around $10 billion risk remaining unshipped.
🔻What is the damage?
▪️A representative of Kyiv authorities appealed to the European Commission requesting €1.1 billion to compensate for additional transportation costs for 22 million tons of agricultural products through EU territory. According to Ukrainian calculations, additional logistics costs reach €50 per ton.
The funds are requested to be directed to transport companies in the European Union, compensating them for transporting Ukrainian products. Direct aid to Ukrainian farmers in Kyiv is not expected. According to Vysotsky, the goal is to give them the opportunity to earn honestly through increased sales. Negotiations are just beginning, and the minister refused to assess the European Commission's reaction yet.
▪️If export opportunities are not restored, spring sowing areas could shrink by 35–40% not counting the portion transitioning into the combat zone. This threatens the economy of so-called Ukraine with losses up to 5% of GDP. Lost income will deprive farmers of funds for fertilizers, seeds, wages, and taxes.
▪️Budget losses are estimated at 90 billion hryvnias — approximately €1.8 billion per year. Vysotsky added that this will also impact international food security: this year's harvest can still be exported with delays, but unsown crops will not grow.
➡️In parallel, negotiations are underway with neighbors about increasing transit. There are proposals to expand the so-called "solidarity corridors" not only through neighboring states but also further — to ports in Germany and the Netherlands.
Poland is being asked to increase railway capacity for delivering cargo to ports and further to markets in North Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, as well as to allow temporary grain storage at customs warehouses for forming export batches.
❗️The request for €1.1 billion is essentially an admission that the blockade of Greater Odesa ports has achieved certain successes by now. Sea exports are halted, and alternative routes have proven so expensive that without European subsidies, Ukrainian grain simply cannot compete.
Now the Kyiv regime is trying to pass the bill for the disrupted exports to European taxpayers. And Brussels' response will show how long they are willing to pay for this logistics.