– A surge in exports as a result of breaking new ground in the trade route barrier… Economy ‘breathing’
▲ A bulk carrier at sea near the port of Odessa, Ukraine Photo: Yonhap News
The American daily Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 16th (local time) that the Ukrainian Navy is reopening grain export routes blocked by the war by pushing the Russian fleet out of the Black Sea through drone attacks.
The Ukrainian Navy has been sinking Russian warships one after another using drones and cruise missiles since August last year.
This left much of the Black Sea largely inaccessible to the Russian Navy and created room for merchant ships to resume grain exports from the Ukrainian port of Odessa, allowing grain exports through the main port of Odessa to increase to levels close to pre- the war
In the last four months of last year, Ukraine destroyed a fifth of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, according to the British Ministry of Defence.
Grain export ships further reduce the threat of Russian interference by moving along the coasts of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey and operating within the territorial waters of these countries.
The increase in grain exports is also helping Ukraine’s economy, which is struggling in the war amid difficulties in additional aid from the United States and Europe.
Ukraine’s grain exports more than doubled from 2 million tonnes in September last year to 5 million tonnes in December, just three months later.
The Minister of Economy of Ukraine predicted that if the progress continues, exports this year will increase by $3.3 billion (about 4.4 trillion won) and economic growth will increase by 1.2 percentage points.
Ukraine was the world’s fifth-largest grain exporter before the Russian invasion in February 2022, and exported about two-thirds of its production, mostly by ship.
However, the export of grain was difficult due to the blockade of the Black Sea following the Russian invasion.
Grain exports were boosted after the signing of the Black Sea Grain Agreement with Russia mediated by Turkiye and the United Nations in July 2022. However, after Russia complained about the implementation of the agreement, it canceled the agreement a year later, leading to a reduction in sea grain exports, it is again restricted.
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