During the operation of the temporary sea corridor, Ukraine exported almost 700,000 tonnes of grain to the European Union and Africa, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solskyy stated during a meeting of the EU Council on Agriculture and Fisheries.
According to him, the largest amount of agricultural products is exported through the Danube ports.
"In August, we opened a temporary corridor via the Black Sea. It works thanks to the support of our Armed Forces and the trust of international partners. The number of ships calling at the ports is increasing every day. During the operation of the new corridor, 38 vessels entered the ports and more than 30 left, not all of them with grain, of course. However, we managed to export almost 700,000 tonnes of grain. However, most of our products are now exported via the Danube and Romania. And we are sincerely grateful to our Romanian colleagues for their understanding, support and cooperation," Solskyy said.
He added that in September, almost 2.3 million tonnes of agricultural products were exported through the Danube ports. In August, the figure was slightly higher - 2.4 million tonnes. In total, all exports of agricultural products in September amounted to 3.6 million tonnes. Nikolay Solskyy stressed that such volumes are not enough to export all the agricultural products intended for export.
"We need to export about 6 million tonnes per month to preserve our agriculture as a key sector of the economy. This volume of transportation can only be ensured by restoring the full operation of the deep-water ports of Greater Odesa. We see a trend towards an increase in the number of ships leaving our ports. We hope it will continue," he stressed.