A huge backlog of grain shipments totaling nearly 25 million tons is stranded in Ukraine, unable to be transported out of the country owing to “infrastructure challenges” and blocked ports in the Black Sea, according to a U.N. food agency official.
The blocked shipment of grains could be further exacerbating high food prices across the globe, which
rose at their fastest pace on record in March, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), rising 13 percent over the month to 159.3 points, an all-time high.
Prior to Russian forces invading Ukraine in February, the country was one of the world’s top producers of agricultural commodities, specializing in staple products such as wheat, maize, rapeseed, sunflower seeds, and sunflower oil.
Along with rising prices, U.S. officials have repeatedly warned of food shortages prompted by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the latest backlog will no doubt add to that growing concern.
“It’s an almost grotesque situation we see at the moment in Ukraine, with nearly 25 million tons of grain that could be exported but that cannot leave the country simply because of lack of infrastructure, the blockade of the ports,” Josef Schmidhuber, FAO deputy director, markets and trade division, told a Geneva
press briefing on May 6.
Schmidhuber said the grain blockages could result in storage shortages during the next harvest in July and August, particularly if Black Sea ports remain blocked by Russian forces.
Since Moscow forces invaded, Ukraine has had to export grain by train over its western border or from its small Danube river ports instead of by sea. However, reports indicate that wagons containing grains have faced
multiple red tape issues and logistical challenges along with labor and rail car shortages.
“Despite the war, the harvest conditions don’t look that dire. That could really mean there’s not enough storage capacity in Ukraine, particularly if there’s no wheat corridor opening up for export from Ukraine,” Schmidhuber said.
He noted further concerns regarding reports that some grain storage in Ukraine had been destroyed amid the ongoing conflict.
While he didn’t elaborate on the reports, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry
said on May 5 that an estimated 400,000 tons of grain had been stolen to date. The Epoch Times hasn’t been able to verify the claim.
According to the
survey, the Global Supply Shortages Index signaled that shortages were just under seven times higher than the normal level last month, unchanged from March’s four-month high. Freight capacity remained the most impacted, S&P Global said.
