Ships have temporarily stopped entering Ukrainian ports due to Russian attacks. However, there is currently no full blockade of maritime exports.
Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi told reporters, according to Suspilne.
He said four or five ships entered Ukrainian ports on Tuesday, but traffic came to a complete halt the following day. The decision was made by shipowners.
Vysotskyi said the government was working to ensure the stable operation of the maritime corridor.
Earlier, Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council Denys Marchuk said Ukrainian grain exports through the ports of Greater Odesa had effectively been suspended because of the security situation.
“We can effectively say that exports through Greater Odesa have partially stopped. This, of course, is having a negative impact on the rest of the export marketing year,” Marchuk said.
According to him, Ukraine had planned to export more than 2.5 million tonnes of grain by sea in July, but actual volumes currently stand at just over 1 million tonnes.
Marchuk warned that if the maritime corridor cannot resume operations in the coming months, the agricultural sector could face a shortage of funds, insufficient grain storage capacity and the risk of bankruptcies.
