Due to the geographical location of the processing grain companies, a large part of the deliveries in August went to Hungary, followed by Germany, Italy, and Romania as well as the Netherlands. The RCG grain trains cross four border crossings: the Ukrainian-Slovakian border at Chop, the Ukrainian-Hungarian border at Záhony, the Ukrainian-Romanian border at Reni, and the Ukrainian-Polish border at Chyriw.
The RCG expects demand to remain unchanged at the current level in the coming months. To accelerate grain exports, cooperation with the Ukrainian state railway Ukrzaliznica (UZ) will be further expanded. The establishment of a permanent bilateral working group was decided at the end of August 2022. Among other things, the exchange of data and the processes between the cooperation partners, and the utilization of transshipment capacities are to be optimized.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture reports that in the 2022/2023 season, Ukraine's grain exports are down 46 percent year-on-year so far to 2.65 million tonnes. In the 2021/2022 season, which ended June 30, grain exports rose 8.5 percent to 48.5 million tonnes, Reuters reported. The growth was driven by high demand for exports before the February 24 attack on Ukraine by Russian troops.
Due to closed Ukrainian ports and the inability to export grain, world food prices rose significantly in the spring. Ukraine - like Russia - is an important grain exporter, so the fall in exports has sparked fears of famine in some countries in Africa and the Middle East.
Figures from the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture show that in the 2022/2023 season, Ukraine has so far exported 1.75 million tonnes of maize, 658,000 tonnes of wheat, and 226,000 tonnes of barley.
