Romania contributed to the record grain transit from Ukraine and wants to increase the volume

In 2023, the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta registered an unprecedented high volume of grain exports thanks to the transit of goods from Ukraine, despite Russia’s efforts to destroy the Ukrainian transport infrastructure.

After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Romania, a member of NATO and the EU, became an important participant in international aid to Ukraine and provides a key export route for Ukrainian grain.

This is taking place against the backdrop of disputes in European states that border Ukraine over what some call distortions in the grain market due to the influx of Ukrainian grain.

Another important route for Ukrainian exports is Poland, but the government in that country, as well as in Hungary and Slovakia, have banned the import of Ukrainian grain, although they say that they continue to facilitate the transit of grain from Ukraine to international markets.

Meanwhile, the port of Constanta reported that it shipped 36 million tons of grain in 2023, up 50% from last year, with Ukrainian grain accounting for roughly 40% of that total.

Romania hopes to further increase the volume of transit from Ukraine, expanding its transport capabilities with the help of money from the European Union.

From the 2023 EU budget, 28 million euros have been invested in Romanian transport opportunities.

Ukrainian goods are transported to Romania by barges, railways and road transport.

Ukrainian maritime trade corridor

Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian Black Sea ports, as well as Ukrainian transport infrastructure on the Danube River, but Ukraine has declared that it has reduced the Russian threat in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, and that this has allowed at least partial resumption of direct flights of transport vessels, particularly from Odesa.

“In 5 months, 15 million tons of export goods, mostly food, passed through this corridor. The Danube port cluster is also successfully operating. Thanks to this, we increased sea exports by 30% in December compared to November,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on January 9.

Denys Shmyhal noted that the Ukrainian maritime trade corridor became possible thanks to the assistance of British insurance companies.

Mines in the Black Sea

On January 11, 2024, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey signed an agreement on joint efforts to clear the western part of the Black Sea of ​​mines, which became a serious threat to shipping when Russia turned the Black Sea into a theater of war against Ukraine.

But Turkey recently made it clear that it is not ready to allow two British warships provided to Ukraine to detect sea mines into the Black Sea.

Turkey announced that the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered the international Montreux Convention, according to which the Turkish government has the right to prevent warships from warring countries from passing through the Bosphorus Strait.