Ukraine exports are complicated by many factors

by | May 23, 2022 | 5 Ag Stories, News

Not only is the invasion of Ukraine by Russia causing severe problems for the people there and the cities they live in, but there are also problems with the exports of Ukrainian goods. We have heard stories about the damage to port facilities, railroads, and the mining of shipping lanes. This is only a part of the problem Russia is causing in the region.

The first question is, how much of Ukraine?s goods are still in Ukraine? Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe. We heard claims that Russia is stealing grain and ag goods from the country and sending them back to Russia. While there are still investigations into these claims, we have also seen Russia export three times as much grain as normal during what is considered to be their slow time. USDA World Ag Outlook Board Chair Mark Jekanowski has more.

As we have talked about in the past, even if there were grains left to export, Ukraine has little to no chance of getting them out. Couple that with India?s export ban on wheat, and we have a problem to deal with, according to Former USDA Economist Joe Glauber.

Glauber adds that countries that normally depend on Ukrainian wheat are finding it elsewhere but at a significant price increase.

Nobody knows how long this invasion will last. Russia is threatening to annex parts of the country, beyond what it wanted to before the invasion. The U.S., EU, and the U.N are all ramping up humanitarian aid while Vladimir Putin tries to rebuild the U.S.S.R. on the back of war and starving populations.