Grain and oilseed exports from Ukraine in 2023 will drop by a third to 46 million tons per year, Agrarian Policy Minister Mykola Solsky said at a meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels on Tuesday.
“Compared to last year, this year’s exports of grain and oilseed crops from Ukraine are expected to decrease by a third to 46 million tons per year. Consequently, Ukraine will be able to export less grain than last year by 40%,” the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy quoted the minister’s speech to European colleagues.
European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski also said at a press conference after the meeting of the agrarian ministers that the EU expects Ukraine to reduce its exports in 2023 because “the country has limited cultivated areas and expects a 40% lower harvest”.
He expressed confidence that this factor will improve the organization of “routes of solidarity” and send “all exports through them.
Wojciechowski positively assessed the prolongation of exports within the framework of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which “will facilitate the export of grain from Ukraine for two months”.
The European Commissioner also recalled the need to take into account the situation with the possible blocking of exports of Ukrainian agricultural products “as it already happened before” through the Black Sea grain corridor and urged to consider the total volume of Ukrainian exports when planning the work of “solidarity corridors”.
