Ukraine cuts grain export floor as Russian strikes drive up shipping costs
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Vessel at a port in Odesa Oblast after a Russian strike, July 11, 2026 (Photo: Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority / Telegram)
Ukraine lowered minimum export prices for agricultural
products after attacks on its seaports forced shipments onto more expensive
routes through Europe, Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi told NV Business.
The previous system set an indicative grain export price of
$220 per metric ton and a minimum price of $180. Logistics costs climbed
sharply after exporters began rerouting shipments through European ports.
“The ports are not operating, so grain has to be shipped
through places such as the Romanian port of Constanta,” Vysotskyi said. “That
immediately adds $50 per metric ton in logistics costs.”
If grain sells for $220 per ton in Constanta, the additional
freight costs leave a net price of about $170 at Ukraine’s border. The
Ukrainian indicative price, however, was $185.
“That held back exports,” Vysotskyi said.
The government lowered the minimum price so Ukrainian grain
could remain competitive abroad despite the higher cost of transportation.
At about $170 per ton, exports generate virtually no profit,
the minister said.
“At an indicative price of $170 per ton, exports break
even,” Vysotskyi said. “But under the current circumstances, even a zero margin
is good because it generates working capital.”
The government acted after farmers and industry associations
asked it to intervene.
“Because of the force majeure conditions at our ports, we
needed a one-time reduction in the minimum price to keep exports from
stopping,” Vysotskyi said. “The margin may be zero, but the grain keeps
moving.”
The lower price floor should allow farmers to continue
selling grain and secure at least enough working capital to maintain operations
and prepare for the next planting season.
Russia has also reportedly attacked civilian vessels
stranded in ports in Mykolaiv Oblast. The ships have been trapped in Ukrainian
ports since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022 and do not operate
commercial routes, but they have nevertheless come under Russian fire.
Ukrzaliznytsia has meanwhile restricted freight shipments to
stations serving ports in Odesa Oblast.
The United Nations has warned that Russian attacks on Black
Sea ports threaten food security.
The Southern Mining and Processing Plant in Kryvyi Rih is
partially suspending mining because Russian attacks on civilian merchant ships
bound for Ukraine’s Black Sea ports have effectively blocked port traffic.
Ferrexpo has halted seaborne shipments of iron ore pellets
because of Russian strikes on the Greater Odesa ports.
The suspension of grain exports through Odesa ports has
pushed domestic wheat prices down to one-third of their previous level. Buyers
are paying 3,000 hryvnias per metric ton for grain purchased directly from
farmers’ trucks.
Farmers are sounding the alarm. The All-Ukrainian Agrarian
Council, known by its Ukrainian initials VAR, has asked Ukraine’s prime
minister to take urgent crisis measures after ships stopped calling at the
country’s Black Sea ports.
The association warned that port closures, damaged berths,
export restrictions and high fuel costs could drive Ukrainian farmers into
widespread bankruptcy.
The National Bank of Ukraine has also detailed the economic
consequences of Russia’s port strikes.
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