Ukraine’s Jan-Oct grain exports via Romania’s Constanta down 52%

BUCHAREST, Nov 19 (Reuters) –Ukraine’s grain exports through the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta in the first 10 months were down by52% from ayear earlierto 5.66 million metric tons, the port authority said, as Kyiv relies on its own ports despite Russian attacks on shippingand infrastructure.

Constanta remains Ukraine’s main alternative route for grain since Russia’s full-scale invasion, with grain arriving by road, rail and barge on the Danube river.

Port data, which does not include volumes handled through smaller Romanian ports and direct exports by rail and road, showed that roughly 490,000 tons of Ukrainian grain left port in October.

Romania is one of the EU’s biggest grain exporters and the port ofConstanta also handles grain flows from landlocked neighbours including Serbia, Hungary and Moldova.

But the drop in Ukrainian grain flows means overall grain exports through Constanta were down by a fifth from ayear earlierat 23.5 million tons in the first 10 months.

Kyiv has managed to boost grain exports through its own ports by creating a shipping corridor that hugs the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria after Russia withdrew from a U.N.-backed export initiative last year.

Ukraine’s agriculture ministry said earlier this month thatit expects a 2024 grain harvest of about 54 million tons and a total crop, including oilseeds, of 77 million tons.

Reuters