Grains. Russia wants to provoke a global food crisis by pulling out of the deal on the export of Ukrainian cereals via the Black Sea, said the Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. She said member states acknowledged Romania’s efforts to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain and offered to help consolidate the port and railway infrastructure on Romanian territory to prevent a blockage of the transit of grain. The European Commission also said that the Romanian authorities can unilaterally decide to create special corridors for the transport of Romanian cereals to the port of Constanţa, following a request to this effect made by Romanian farmers. There are fears that Romania’s biggest Black Sea port may become overcrowded as Romanian farmers have announced better crops than last year, while the transit of Ukrainian cereals will generate even more traffic.
Bucharest may decide unilaterally to create dedicated lanes for the transport of Romanian grains to the port of Constanţa, the European Commission said after Romanian farmers submitted a request in this respect.
The Romanian and Ukrainian cereal export has become even more complicated after Moscow decided to pull out from the UN deal regarding the export of grains via the Black Sea, which expired on July 17, and to strike the grain terminals in the Ukrainian port of Odessa.
The Romanian diplomacy chief Luminiţa Odobescu Thursday took part in a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, focusing among others on this decision made by Russia. Odobescu pointed out that by bombing the Odessa port and threatening the vessels in the Black Sea, Russia seeks to generate a European food crisis and that, under these circumstances, the European bloc acknowledges the importance of Romania in the region.
Luminiţa Odobescu: „I’d like to emphasise that Romania’s efforts have been appreciated and our country’s enhanced role in facilitating these exports has been acknowledged. So we are supported not only by the Commission, but also by many member states which are willing to get further involved in consolidating the port and railway infrastructure on Romanian territory, to avoid bottlenecks in the transit of grains from Ukraine to the beneficiary countries.”
Turkey may play a particularly important part in this respect, Luminiţa Odobescu also said, especially since the deal on grain exports via the Black Sea was signed in Istanbul. She mentioned that the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is carrying on the dialogue within the UN and with various partners, in order to persuade Russia to extend the agreement.
These developments are of major importance to Bucharest, given that of the 5 countries securing the transit of Ukrainian grains to Asia and Africa, Romania sees the largest transit figures. Moreover, this year Romanian farmers expect a 20-25% better harvest than last year, so the Romanian products, added to the transiting Ukrainian amounts, could choke the transport infrastructure. There are fears that the port of Constanţa will not be able to handle the situation, in operational terms, the grain market analyst Cezar Gheorghe told Radio Romania:
Cezar Gheorghe: „We might see the road, railway and barge flows doubling. Moreover, Constanţa will be subject to extreme operational pressure, and I honestly tell you there is no chance it could handle it, simply because in operational terms, Constanţa is able to manage only 25-26 million tons of grains and oilseeds per year.”
Cezar Gheorghe believes that in this context, Romania should apply as soon as possible for additional EU funding for investments in transport infrastructure. (Sorin Iordan, Radio Romania International)
