Ukraine has begun exporting grain through Croatian seaports, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko said during a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic at the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Bucharest.
“Ukrainian grain has already been exported through Croatian ports. Thank you for this opportunity. This trade route, although niche, is already popular. We are ready to develop it by expanding the capabilities of the transportation corridor. We believe that this logistics route will play an important role in bilateral trade between our countries even after the war,” the press service of the Ministry of Economy and Trade quoted her as saying.
According to the report, the parties discussed bilateral trade and exports of Ukrainian grain through Croatian ports. They also discussed the importance of jointly resolving the issue of export restrictions for Ukrainian exports. The meeting also touched upon the issues of demining, war crimes investigation, and opening new trade routes for Ukrainian grain exports.
The parties raised the issue of accelerating the localization of demining equipment production to start its production at the facilities of domestic enterprises.
“One of the most important tasks for Ukraine in the near future is to demine the territories and return potentially contaminated land to use. Both post-war recovery and further development of the national economy depend on the speed of this process. That is why we are grateful to all partners who help Ukraine resolve this issue,” Svyrydenko emphasized.
Plenkovic offered to assist Ukraine in investigating war crimes. This includes sharing Croatia’s experience and expertise in establishing special prosecutors and special police to investigate crimes committed during the war.
As reported, the main routes for exporting Ukrainian agricultural products after the shelling of port infrastructure on the Black Sea remain land transport and seaports on the Danube.
In May 2023, the European Commission banned imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania at the insistence of these countries. On June 5, the European Commission extended the ban until September 15, 2023.
