New Strategy Center participated in the Black Sea Grain & Oil Forum in Kyiv on 14 September, a conference that brought together Ukrainian officials, experts and members of the business community involved in Ukraine’s export operations.
Speakers stressed the vital importance of the Odesa-Istanbul “green corridor” for Ukraine’s grain exports, noting that the suspension of the agreement has forced Ukraine to find alternative routes, which have not reached previous volumes. Ukraine’s priority is not only to develop new export routes, but also to maintain and develop existing ones. Ukraine is in the process of identifying and building new markets, facing numerous challenges, the biggest of which is the direct threat of Russian attacks. In addition to security risks, logistical problems such as incompatibility of railways with the railways of neighbouring European countries and a lack of sufficient containers have a negative effect on exports.
Although the military risks to the agricultural sector are now intensifying, given that Russia’s attacks are now targeting port infrastructure, especially grain warehouses, Ukraine managed to record a record number of exports in August – 3.8 million tonnes. But Ukraine’s actual and currently needed capacity is 5 million tonnes per month. The major problems affecting agricultural activity are logistics, financing, access to markets and labour shortages. Due to instability producers in the agricultural sector are preparing for a tougher period of 2-3 years. Discussions have also considered the development of energy projects, including in the offshore Black Sea area, such as gas and wind energy, once the security situation has stabilised.
New Strategy Center was represented at the conference by Mrs. Ecaterina Dadiverina, coordinator of the “Projects for Ukraine” department.
NSC is a Romanian think tank, financed from private funds and international projects, which supports the values of the Euro-Atlantic area, Romania’s membership in NATO and the EU, Romania’s strategic partnership with the USA and special ties with our European allies globally.