Ukraine’s grain exports fell 43% this season

Ukraine’s grain exports have fallen 43.2 percent year on year since the start of the 2022-2023 season to 6.88 million tons, the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture said on Wednesday.

The country’s grain exports plummeted after the war broke out in February due to the closure of its ports on the Black Sea, a major shipping route, driving up food prices worldwide and raising fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.

Three ports on the Black Sea opened at the end of July under a deal brokered between Moscow and Kyiv brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.

The ministry’s data showed that exports in the season, which began in July 2022 and ends in June 2023, have so far included 3.95 million tons of corn, 2.30 million tons of wheat, and 598,000 tons of barley.

The government says Ukraine could harvest between 50 and 52 million tons of grain this year after a record harvest of 86 million tons in 2021, due to the loss of land to Russian forces and low yields.