In January-March 2025, Ukrainian ports reduced the volume of cargo handled by 17.2% compared to the same period last year – to 23 million tons.
“In the first quarter of 2025, Ukrainian ports handled 23 million tons of cargo… For comparison, in the first quarter of 2024, Ukrainian ports handled 27.8 million tons of cargo, 4.8 million tons more than this year,” the state-owned Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) said on Facebook on Wednesday.
“The decrease in cargo turnover is due to the reduction of farmland and a decline in production in export-oriented industries, in particular metallurgy, which exported up to 80% of its products before the war,” the USPA said.
It is noted that global cargo transshipment is also declining due to market volatility and logistics disruptions.
According to the report, the largest volumes of cargo were handled by the ports of Greater Odesa. Since the beginning of 2025, they have handled 20.7 million tons of cargo: Pivdennyi port – 10.6 million tons, Chornomorskyi port – 6.6 million tons, Odesskyi port – 3.5 million tons.
The ports of Izmail, Reni and Ust-Dunaisk in the Danube region handled over 2.3 million tons of cargo.
Despite the shelling and threats from the Russian army, the ports continue to operate steadily thanks to the coordinated work of port workers. The Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ensure the safety of navigation, the USPA emphasized.
Earlier, Oleksiy Kuleba, Vice Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine and Minister of Community and Territorial Development, said that as of April, 116 million tons of cargo had been transported through the Ukrainian sea corridor, including almost 73 million tons of grain. In early March, the Ministry of Development reported that 106 million tons of cargo had been transported through the Ukrainian sea corridor, including almost 70 million tons of grain.
