The European Commission says it will work with the EU governments to help Ukraine export millions of tons of grain currently stuck in the country.
As part of the Russian invasion, Russia’s navy has blocked Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. Ukraine was the fourth-largest grain exporter during the 2020-2021 season, selling 44.7 million tons abroad, mainly to China, Africa, and Europe. The closed seaports are causing problems getting grain out of Ukraine and threatening the world’s food supply, especially in poorer regions like Africa.
Reuters says getting Ukraine’s products out quickly by train is challenging too because the country’s rail system has different widths of track from Europe. That means the grain has to get transferred at the border to different trains. To make things even worse, there aren’t a lot of transfer facilities on the border.
The Commission will take several steps to prioritize Ukraine’s grain shipments at their terminals.
