(BLACK SEA) – Ukraine has imposed a de facto maritime blockade on Russia’s Black Sea ports, halting almost all grain shipments and creating a severe crisis for Russian agriculture, according to recent reports.
Ukrainian forces have reportedly ceased publishing videos of strikes on ships in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. The decision to halt the release of official footage comes amid diplomatic pressure, including a reported call from US officials to Kyiv regarding strikes on vessels linked to a Kazakh consortium partnered with the American company Chevron. However, the strikes themselves are ongoing. Footage filmed and released by the crews of targeted ships continues to surface, confirming that the campaign remains active despite the change in Ukrainian media policy.
The objective of the campaign is to shut down all of Russia’s ports, preventing the export of both oil and gas and agricultural products. This strategy mirrors the economic pressure Russia has applied to Ukraine’s own port city of Odesa.
The impact on Russia’s grain export industry has been devastating. The NKHP grain export terminal reported that repairs following a Ukrainian attack will take four months. Attacks over recent months have halted almost all grain shipments through the ports on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, which previously accounted for 70 percent of all of Russia’s grain exports. A major strike on the port of Novorossiysk on 12th August put all three of Russia’s grain terminals out of operation, with repairs expected to take months.
Consequently, Russia is unable to export its current grain harvest. Farmers have nowhere to send or sell their produce, and exporters are no longer accepting it. This situation is expected to lead to higher global food prices and could potentially trigger famine in parts of the world dependent on Russian and Ukrainian agricultural exports.
The domestic crisis is escalating. A Russian farmer, speaking anonymously in a video, described the situation as a “catastrophe”. He reported that the port of Novorossiysk is still not accepting wheat, and that the wheat export duty has been raised for the third time in a month, from 320 roubles (£3.02 / $3.84) to 721 roubles (£6.81 / $8.66), and is set to rise to 1,120 roubles (£10.58 / $13.45) on 26th August. This represents a near three-fold increase in two weeks.
August exports fell to their lowest levels since 2010, at just 1.8 million tons, against an expected minimum of three million. The price of grain in the south of Russia is dropping, increasing the burden on exporters. The farmer stated that farmers have already lost at least half of their potential income and called for an end to the war to save the agricultural sector.
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