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Email us: Over 20 Million Tonnes of Grain Stuck in Ukraine
July 11, 2022
Design, Manufacture & Installation, Steel Fabrication Engineering Specialists, Plant & Sheet Metal Fabrication, Manchester
Around 20 million tons of grain from the world food supply is still being stored in the Ukraine, driving up food prices and taking world hunger to crisis level. This is due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has effectively rendered the Black Sea unusable. Not only have Black Sea ports such as Odessa been blockaded, there are also numerous floating mines, making the waters treacherous for ships. The situation has meant that grain has had to be stored in towering, multi-storey warehouses on the Odessa quayside.
A series of huge metal structures is where the grain sits, a single one of these containers holds a quarter of a million tonnes of grain. This represents just 1% of the total amount trapped and waiting to be moved. Hundreds of these steel ‘grain elevators’ appear throughout Ukraine, situated next to roads, ports and railway terminals. They are almost full to capacity, and a further problem is that the new crop is now ready to harvest.
There are diplomatic efforts to rescue Ukraine’s grain, although there are huge logistical challenges. Transportation by sea has always been the most practical solution given the quantities involved. Taking the grain across land has been attempted, but there are almost insurmountable issues with time, expense and safety. There is also the fact that over land transport could only carry a very limited amount of grain. Turkey is trying to negotiate with Russia on allowing grain ships to enter and leave the Black Sea.
These problems are having a huge knock on effect globally, as prices sky rocket and shortages loom. Ukraine is the producer of half the world’s sunflower seeds, a tenth of its wheat and up to a fifth of barley and rapeseed. There is also the fact that Ukrainian farmers may limit their harvest for 2023, if they see grain not getting through.