Only abolition of the blockade on seaports can improve the situation with the export of Ukrainian agricultural products. Without this, farmers will not be able to earn income, pay off previous loans and will be forced to suspend operations. This was stated by the UAC Deputy Chairman Mykhailo Sokolov, reports ubr.ua.

"The war is unlikely to cause food problems in Ukraine, but it has already led to the opposite disaster - the difficulty of exporting agricultural raw materials. As it turned out, there is no alternative to export grain to international markets, which Russia began to block even before active hostilities. As a result, this blockade causes a global crisis in Ukraine's entire agricultural sector, which is the most important to its economy. Due to the lack of sale of the old harvest, farmers will not have enough funds to harvest new and for activities in future," is mentioned in the statement.

It should be noted that 98% of all Ukrainian grain supplies abroad used seaports. It is impossible to redirect this volume to other directions - railway and roads. According to the Railways of Ukraine, its export capacity is 20,000 tons per day. Even if they double them, in annual terms it will be about 12-15 million tons. At the same time, the usual exports of agricultural products from Ukraine - 50-60 million tons.

"It will not be possible to double daily volumes. According to the UAC estimates, the maximum export by railways may be 700,000 tons per month. At best, it could be increased by a million tons through river transport by the Danube to Europe, the opening of which is currently being discussed. But even together with the Danube, which, if it is opened in the coming days, Ukraine will be able to export 20.4 million tons of grain per year," said Mykhailo Sokolov.

At the same time, the corn harvest, which was not exported before the war, according to the Ukrainian Grain Association, reached 14-15 million tons (32 million tons of corn was planned for export with a total of 38 million tons). To these should be added up to 8 million tons of wheat - in 2021 Ukraine harvested 33 million tons of this crop, of which exported 18 million tons. Consumption of the domestic market is usually about 7 million tons of wheat.

"In total, there are surplus crops in Ukraine, which could be exported without loss to the domestic market, but impossible through closed ports, reaching about 34 million tons. According to government estimates, UAH50 billion are needed to implement the sowing campaign. This amount is enough to finance the sowing campaign, but with the issuance of loans in practice still there are difficulties - banks involved in the program, were mentally unprepared for war and continued to negotiate loans for peacetime patterns," said the UAC Deputy Chairman.

On the one hand, the loan procedure remains long and bureaucratic. On the other hand, those farmers who work in regions where active hostilities are taking place - Chernihiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv regions, in the south of Ukraine, generally faced a categorical refusal to issue loans only on the basis of being in these regions.

"There is enough money allocated by the state, but in practice they do not reach farmers quickly, and the sowing campaign is about to begin. We have now raised the issue with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy to at least change the policy of state-owned banks," Mykhailo Sokolov said.

In addition, if the ports remain blocked, it will not be possible to remove all previous harvests before this year's harvest. This will be a very big problem.

"Ukrainian capacities for simultaneous grain storage reach only 50 million tons. The amount of the non-exported old harvest (34 million tons) and the planned volumes of the new one (at least 70 million tons) may exceed this level twice. It is possible to increase the capacity for storing grain at the expense of alternative technologies to elevators, the so-called "grain sleeves" made of polyethylene, but only the removal of the blockade from seaports can radically correct the situation. Without this, farmers will not be able to earn income, pay off previous loans and will be forced to suspend operations," Mykhailo Sokolov concluded.