The Lithuanian government may help Ukraine export up to 1 million tons of grain by rail after Poland temporarily banned grain imports from Ukraine, said Lithuanian Economy and Innovation Minister Ausrini Armonaitė.
“The port of Klaipeda and Lithuanian Railways can play an important role in creating momentum to help Poland resolve the situation and guarantee grain exports outside the EU. Lithuania could help safely transport up to 1 million tons of grain from Ukraine by rail. This would be a real solution for Ukraine and a benefit for Poland,” Verslo zinios quoted the minister as saying.
In turn, the president of the Association of Lithuanian Sea Cargo Companies Vaidotas Shileyko noted that the port of Klaipeda is able to process more than 1 million tons of grain a year, but because of the difficult logistics, it is impossible to import more.
“Lithuanian railroads started transporting small volumes of Ukrainian grain through Poland to the port of Klaipeda last May. The main problem here is different railway gauges: Ukraine and Lithuania still use Russian gauges, while Poland uses European ones, which means that rolling stock has to be changed at the border,” he explained.
