Ukraine’s grain exports in October are almost back to their pre-war levels

Ukraine’s grain exports in the first 17 days of October were 2.4% lower than the same period in 2021, data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture showed on Monday, October 17, despite the closure of many seaports and the Russian invasion.

The country’s grain exports have fallen since February after the war closed Ukraine’s ports on the Black Sea, driving up global food prices and raising fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.

It opened three ports on the Black Sea at the end of July under an agreement between Moscow and Kyiv brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.

Agriculture Ministry data showed that Ukraine had exported 2.12 million tons of grain, mostly corn and wheat, so far in October, compared to 2.17 million tons in the same period in October 2021.

The data also showed that Ukraine has exported a total of 10.8 million tons of grain so far in the 2022/23 season, which started last July and ends next June, compared to 16.5 million tons in the same period of the 2021/22 season.

The quantity exported this season includes 3.99 million tons of wheat, 5.88 million tons of corn and 896 thousand tons of barley.