For a year, the Sea Corridor Agreement was the preferred axis for half of grain exports. Despite the conflict, 33 million tons of corn, wheat or rapeseed had been borrowed. The Ukrainian authorities, far-sighted and fearful not–Renewal of Agreementhave increased the capacities of other means of export.
Although the railroad is doing well despite the recurring bombing raids, costs to farmers remain high. A second problem is rail freight transport: the rail differences between Kiev and its neighboring countries. Soviet-pattern Ukrainian rails spaced 1520 millimeters apart and European-standard Romanian rails spaced 1435 millimeters apart. This simple difference in standards of 85 millimeters is delaying the works that need to connect Ukraine with Romania by train.
The ways of the Danube
River transport has therefore proven to be ideal given all the restrictions Ukraine is facing. Ismail, 70,000 inhabitants, is a port city on the Danube Delta in southern Ukraine. Thousands of trucks full of grain are arriving in impressive traffic jams on the roads, which have become increasingly potholed for a year. They deposit the precious crops in barges and small ships.
The boats then have two branches of the Danube at their disposal: the lighter ones, such as barges, travel several hundred kilometers upstream and at the end of their journey take the Danube-Black Sea Canal, which ends in the port of Constanta. The other ships come from the Danube and take the Black Sea through Romanian territorial waters to also reach Romania’s most important port.
Constanta allows cargo to be transshipped from barges and small vessels to larger bulk carriers capable of distributing grain around the world after the Bosphorus. Traffic on the river is increasing and as of May 2023 it accounted for 50% of grain exports.
A year ago, boats that wanted to reach Izmail via the Danube estuary took a whole day to complete the journey and load goods, while today it took only three days due to traffic. The latter should not fall, since Moscow’s threats against merchant ships only affect those calling at Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea (Chernomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhn).
Also read: “The restrictions on our grain in Europe must be lifted,” pleads the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine