KYIV (Reuters) – A new maritime corridor allowing cargo ships to transport Ukrainian grain and iron ore from Black Sea ports has significantly reduced freight costs, and they are likely to fall further, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. Ukrainian Minister of Agriculture.
Kyiv set up a temporary “humanitarian corridor” in August to allow agricultural exports in the Black Sea. Indeed, Russia has threatened to treat all ships as potential military targets since it withdrew last month from the United Nations (UN)-backed grain deal.
“New ships are coming. In the near future, every farmer will be able to feel that the logistics related to this route should become cheaper and, as a result, the profit margin for grain will increase,” assured Minister of Agriculture Mykola Solsky on national television.
Several cargo ships used the new route in September, delivering grain and iron ore to the global market. Three additional cargo ships left Ukrainian seaports on Sunday, while five new ships arrived for loading.
“The first (ships) left. It was expensive. The next ones are cheaper. I think freight has become 30 to 40 percent cheaper in the last two or three weeks. It’s still expensive, but it “It’s much cheaper than before,” said Mykola Solsky.
He did not give exact figures.
Ukraine is expected to harvest 79 million tonnes of grains and oilseeds in 2023, with an exportable surplus of around 50 million tonnes in 2023/24.
Insurance broker Miller said last month that a new maritime insurance mechanism for Ukrainian grain exports using the country’s new sea corridor had been established.
(Reporting Pavel Polityuk; French version Gaëlle Sheehan, editing by Kate Entringer)
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