OMAHA (DTN) — With port access accounting for nearly three-quarters of Ukraine's grain exports since the Russian invasion, Russia's moves to cut off the Black Sea and attack port infrastructure will effectively stop Ukraine's access to the world.
That's one major take from DTN Lead Analyst Todd Hultman following a webinar on the latest agricultural challenges in Ukraine on Thursday. Without that Black Sea deal, Ukraine's options for moving major volumes of grain are limited.
"Overall, it seems Ukraine will have a tough time maintaining the pace we grew accustomed to when Russia allowed the Black Sea grain corridor," Hultman said.
Pressure continues to mount on Russia to re-establish the Black Sea grain corridor, even as Russia is attacking grain infrastructure at ports and farms. African leaders and China each have pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a new deal to reopen Ukrainian grain exports.
Antonina Broyaka, an associate professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, was a dean at an agricultural university in Ukraine before the war began. Broyaka has since held frequent webinars updating some of the impacts of the war on Ukraine's agricultural sector.
On Thursday, Broyaka highlighted just how much Ukrainian farmers and grain shippers have relied on those Black Sea ports to move commodities since the shipping deal was brokered a year ago.
Russia ended its participation in the Black Sea agreement on July 17 and has since then launched repeated attacks on key ports such as the city of Odesa and ports on the Danube River.
"They will continue to blackmail and try to open and close engagement as they want," Broyaka said.
Russia's navy also has ramped up threats against civilian ships in the Black Sea, warning against any movement toward Ukrainian ports.
Broyaka highlighted several farms and grain-storage facilities have been destroyed in just the past two weeks. That included the destruction of hundreds of thousands of tons of grain that was ready to ship.
