The exports of Ukraine through an alternative Black Sea maritime transport corridor have reached almost four million metric tons since the route began operating in August, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Humanitarian Corridor

Ukraine launched a "humanitarian corridor" for ships heading to African and Asian markets to try to bypass a de facto blockade in the Black Sea after Russia abandoned a United Nations-brokered agreement that had guaranteed maritime exports for Kyiv during the war.

Ukrainian officials stated that the route, passing along the southwest coast of the Black Sea in Ukrainian territorial waters, then onwards through Romanian waters to Turkey, will also be used for grain shipments.

"The grain corridor is working. Now we are exceeding the four million-ton mark and maintaining a positive dynamic," said Zelensky in the Telegram messaging app.

Ukrainian transport authorities stated last week that 91 vessels had exported 3.3 million metric tons of agricultural and metal products since November 9.

The situation with exports along the route became more complicated last week when a Russian missile hit a civilian ship in a port in the Odesa region.

Officials said the route continued to operate, but brokers reported an increase in commodity prices.

Surplus

The Ukrainian government expects a harvest of 79 million tons of grains and oilseeds in 2023, with the exportable surplus in 2023/24 totaling about 50 million tons.

Ukrainian grain exports dropped to 9.8 million metric tons since November 6 in the 2023/24 trading season (July-June), down from 14.3 million tons a season earlier.

The ministry did not provide an explanation for the decrease, but traders and farmer unions said the blockade of the Ukrainian port in the Black Sea and Russian attacks on the Danube River port are the main reasons for the decline in exports.