ESMagazine reports that Ukraine's grain exports through Romania's Constanța port on the Black Sea have dropped by a third this year, totaling 3.05 million metric tons in the first four months of 2024, according to the port authority's statement to Reuters. This decline is attributed to an increase in exports from Ukraine's own port of Odesa.

Overall, grain exports through Constanța have risen by nearly 15%.

Despite the decline, Constanța remains Kyiv's largest alternative export route since Russia's invasion in February 2022. Analysts and observers have noted that the reduction in exports is due to Ukraine successfully shipping more grain through Odesa.

New Maritime Corridor from Odesa

In August last year, Ukraine established a maritime transport corridor from its own ports, hugging the western coast of the Black Sea near Romania and Bulgaria. This move came shortly after Russia withdrew from a UN-brokered agreement for safe grain exports.

Grain arrives in Romania via rail and barges across the Danube, with the coalition government boosting rail and river investments over the past two years using European Union funds.

Increased Grain Exports

"Last year, the Russians tried to choke the Black Sea initiative, so Odesa operated at very low capacity, pushing grain exports to other locations," a senior U.S. State Department official stated in Bucharest in April.

"What’s important for Constanța in the future are the investments made to make grain transport via the Danube and Constanța much easier and cheaper, keeping it competitive with Odesa."

Constanța port data, excluding volumes handled by smaller Romanian Danube ports and rail and road exports to southern European states, showed that 890,000 tons of Ukrainian grain left the port in April.

Nonetheless, Constanța’s total grain exports increased by 14.8% year-over-year, reaching 10.7 million tons.

Romania is one of the largest grain exporters in the EU. Constanța handles domestic grain and shipments from landlocked neighbors Serbia, Hungary, Moldova, and Austria.

"The Port of Constanța is ready, with separate transit corridors for (Ukrainian) grain," said Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu. "Romanian farmers have separate port docks in 2024." (Photo: Freepik)