Photo: Getty Images
Ukraine’s agricultural exports could fall by more than half in the 2026–27 marketing year as Russian attacks disrupt operations at the country’s Black Sea ports, Bloomberg reported.
According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Agriculture, the country could export around 29.6 million metric tons of agricultural products during the 2026–27 marketing year. That is 54% below the previous estimate of 64.4 million tons.
Wheat exports are expected to decline by 53% to 8.3 million tons compared with the previous forecast. Ukraine is one of the world’s major grain suppliers, Bloomberg noted.
The agricultural sector generated more than half of Ukraine’s export revenues last year. Russian attacks on the ports around Odesa, which normally handle about 90% of the country’s grain shipments, have disrupted these export flows.
Alternative routes face limitations
Alternative export routes through the Danube are also facing difficulties because drought has pushed water levels in the river to record lows.
The arrival of the new harvest is putting additional pressure on Ukraine’s storage capacity and domestic prices. Around 59 million tons of grain-storage capacity could be fully occupied by early November, while the storage deficit could reach approximately 11 million tons by the end of autumn.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine has approved subsidized loans for agricultural producers and plans additional measures to expand grain-storage capacity.
Ukraine has also asked the European Commission for €220 million ($253 million) in grants to subsidize interest payments on loans for small and medium-sized farmers.
Ukraine seeks to expand routes through Europe
Kyiv and Bucharest have agreed to expand agricultural shipments through Romania’s Port of Constanța. Ukraine’s state railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia is also looking for additional transit routes.
Grain is already being redirected through Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. However, these routes cannot fully replace the export capacity of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that Ukraine could lose more than $2 billion in export revenues during the second half of 2026 because of disrupted shipments.
On August 6, it was also reported that Russian forces had attacked another civilian vessel in the Black Sea, killing a Ukrainian sailor.
