Ukrainian Sea Corridor feeds the world despite russian attacks

106 million tons of cargo, of which almost 70 million tons are grain, have passed through the Ukrainian sea corridor since its launch. The relevant statistics were provided by the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine. In this regard, Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction Oleksandr Kubrakov noted that thanks to the corridor, 4,000 ships delivered Ukrainian agricultural products to countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, despite the fact that Russia continues to shell port infrastructure.

In particular, on March 1, the enemy launched another missile attack on the port of Odesa, injuring two civilian employees. Two civilian vessels were hit that day. The dry cargo ship "SUPER SARKAS" under the flag of Sierra Leone, which was carrying more than 21,000 tons of corn and soybeans for export, was damaged, as well as the container ship "MSC LEVANTE F" under the flag of Panama, which belongs to one of the leading European companies. In total, 29 civilian vessels have already been affected by Russian attacks.

It is worth noting that there has been an increase in freight rates for ships exporting grain in the Ukrainian sea transportation market. According to the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA), the initiative shifted to the shipowners at the end of February, which led to an increase in tariffs despite the lack of a significant increase in transportation requests and limited activity in fixing the fleet. Market experts predict that if the cost of sea transportation continues to rise, Ukrainian exporters will have to adapt their logistics strategies to avoid additional costs.

Speaking about the global grain market, it should be remembered that the world's grain crop figures (wheat and coarse grains) for the 2024-25 MY have been adjusted downwards by 3 million tons compared to the previous January report. The total volume is expected to be 2.301 billion tons, which is slightly less than the record 2.309 billion tons last season. The main reason for the revision of forecasts was the deterioration of corn crop prospects in South America, as well as a reduction in sorghum production. Grain consumption is forecast to increase to a record 2.334 billion tons, although this figure has been slightly reduced compared to the previous forecast. Ending grain stocks are estimated at 576 million tons, which is 5% less than the previous year and the lowest level in the last decade.

At the same time, global grain trade is projected to decrease by 1 million tons compared to last month. The main impact on this indicator was the decrease in import demand for sorghum and wheat in China. As for the wheat market, global production in 2024-25 MY is expected to be 797 million tons, and consumption - 806 million tons. These figures have hardly changed compared to the previous forecast. However, international wheat trade is estimated to decrease by 8% to 197 million tons.

Against this background, Ukraine continues to increase agricultural exports. As of March 3, Ukraine has exported 29.202 million tons of grain and leguminous crops since the beginning of the 2024/25 marketing year, of which 84,000 tons were shipped this month. In this regard, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, citing operational data from the State Customs Service of Ukraine, noted that since the beginning of the season, 12.014 million tons of wheat, 2.126 million tons of barley and 14.62 million tons of corn have been exported. Total exports of Ukrainian flour since the beginning of the season as of February 26 are estimated at 47.8 thousand tons (in February - 4.2 thousand tons), including wheat - 44.1 thousand tons (3.9 thousand tons).