World Grain - March 2023 - 30

A grain
storage unit
in Ukraine
destroyed
by Russian
weaponry.
" However, even in the western regions, the price
makes grain production unprofitable, " Lytvyn said.
Dykun noted: " Most farmers have no working capital.
They could not harvest and sell last year's crops.
(Their) agricultural machinery was stolen or destroyed
by the occupiers, logistics costs skyrocketed, fertilizers
have also jumped in price and are in short supply, and
the cost of demining one hectare of field is high. "
All Ukrainian grain producers are in dire financial
condition, Lytvyn agreed. There are massive liquidity
problems. Farmers still have stocks of products, but
they cannot sell them at profitable prices. As a result,
spring sowing will be carried out with minimal use of
fertilizers and plant protection products, which will inevitably
hinder yields.
In the second half of 2022, Ukrainian armed forces
launched a counteroffensive liberating large territories
in the Kharkiv and Kherson region. There are hopes
that this should bolster Ukrainian grain production in
2023, but for some farmers resuming operation could
be difficult.
" Many farmers in the de-occupied territories often
have nowhere to return to because their farms have
been destroyed or are in conditions that are dangerous
to human life, " Dykun said.
" However, most farmers remain optimistic and will
resume farm operations as soon as it is safe for the lives
of workers, " Dykun said, adding that labor shortage is
another challenge to be reckoned with. " Farms have
lost a large number of men who went to defend our
homeland. Of course, this affects their operations, but
we understand that if we do not protect the state, we
will not be able to work at all. "
Grain Deal concerns
The Black Sea Grain Initiative and Solidarity Lanes
helped the Ukrainian grain farmers to resume grain exports
in 2022 and make it through last year. UCAB estimated
that since the deal was struck in August 2022 until
the end of the year, Ukraine exported 16.1 million tonnes
30
of agricultural products through the grain corridor, including
12.5 million tonnes of grain. This is better than
nothing but still lower than the Ukrainian grain industry
needs. In early 2023, the supplies declined further.
" In January 2023, 77 ships exported 3 million tonnes
of agricultural products from the ports of Greater
Odesa to Africa, Asia, and Europe, " Dykun said. " This
is 25% less than in December 2022, when 94 vessels
departed the seaports carrying 3.7 million tonnes of agricultural
products.
" The only obstacle to the access of Ukrainian agricultural
products to world markets is the actions of the
Russian side in the Joint Coordination Center (JCC),
which by all means and under false pretenses blocks
inspections of ships in the Bosporus and registration of
new ships to the initiative. "
Dykun estimated that on average 2.5 ships leave
Ukrainian ports per day, which is critically low.
" Three vessels per day out of the proposed nine are
inspected in the Bosphorus and receive permission to
move to Ukrainian ports, " he added.
Lytvyn also complained about the artificial delay in
the inspection of ships by the Russian side, which, she
said, leads to long queues of more than 100 ships waiting
for a check in the Bosphorus, and the waiting time
can last from two to five weeks, which leads to even
greater losses.
The Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry reported the
JCC originally planned to conduct 10 inspections a day,
but Russian inspectors successfully completed only
half of them. In January 2023, out of 204 checks, only
173 were successful, and 31 examinations were not
completed, among other things, due to the premature
and unauthorized end of the working day by Russian
inspectors at 3:30 p.m., rather than the original agreement
of 5:30 p.m., Dykun said.
Concerns about a new offensive
Since the beginning of 2023, Ukrainian government officials
and Western leaders have discussed a possible
March 2023 / World Grain / World-Grain.com
Photo by Vasyl Shtender
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - March 2023
