On September 19, a round table «Grain exports from Ukraine» was held in Ukraine at the initiative of the Embassy of Sweden, which was dedicated to the topic of grain exports from Ukraine through neighboring countries, in particular Slovakia. The purpose of the event was to develop alternative export routes, as well as to alleviate the food security situation around the world.
The Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Mykola Solskyi, said that due to Russia's threats to block Ukrainian ports, there was an urgent need to develop land routes from Ukraine to Europe.
The Minister proposed to subsidize the production of railway grain wagons at factories in Poland, Slovakia and Romania in order to ensure food security. After all, this will help to smoothly transport grain by rail transport.
«In order for these routes to be permanent and function effectively in a market economy, several things need to be done. Grain sent to Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary must go further and move. Today we are observing an acute shortage of transportation capacities. In Ukraine, the number of railway grain carriers is about 24 thousand, while in Europe — 12 thousand. It is clear that there is an urgent need to increase the number of such wagons,» said Mykola Solskyi.
The minister also emphasized that increasing rail logistics will make the routes commercial and competitive, as well as curb food inflation.
Source: minagro.gov.ua
