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withdrawal from the agreement, Ukraine managed to export the entire planned amount from the 2022-2023 marketing year harvest. At the same time, Ukraine lost $2B in foreign exchange this year due to the suspension of the grain corridor.
Attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea have increased wheat prices.Wheat prices rose after Ukraine used naval drones to disable a Russian oil tanker and warship. This threatened a key export route for Russian goods through the Black Sea. As Bloomberg writes, Russia, the largest wheat shipper, transports most of its grain by water. Moscow plans to gather a second record harvest and sell it on the global market this year. Market participants believe any threat to Russian exports is much more serious than a threat to the Ukrainian export corridor. As a result, on August 7, futures in Chicago rose by 3.4% to $6.55 per bushel. On Friday, prices closed another 1% higher after rising 4.3% amid Ukraine's attack on a Russian warship.
Romania is looking for alternatives for exporting Ukrainian grain.
According to Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Luminita Odobescu, Bucharest has increased the transit of Ukrainian grain through Romania by expanding capacities at ports and border crossing points. According to her, Romania is coordinating its actions with Ukraine to increase export volumes. It is known that more than half of Ukrainian exports, which are transported through EU solidarity routes, pass through Romania. According to the European Commission, over 65% of grain exported via the solidarity routes in June passed through the Danube corridor. In her turn, the Prime Minister of Lithuania, Ingrid Šimonite, said that the transit of Ukrainian grain through the ports of Lithuania and other Baltic countries can become permanent, but this requires additional infrastructure investments.
70 UKRAINE Country Report September 2023 www.intellinews.com