EU Seeks Alternative Routes for Ukrainian Grain Exports Amid Black Sea Attacks and Low Danube Waters
The European Union is exploring alternative routes for Ukrainian grain exports due to Russian Black Sea attacks and low Danube waters.
Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen said the EU is discussing export support with Ukraine and its neighboring countries, including through 'solidarity lanes', which carry Ukrainian exports by road, rail, and river when sea traffic slows.
Russian strikes in the Black Sea have curtailed exports from both Ukraine and Russia, while low water limits how much grain vessels can carry on the Danube, Ukraine's main fallback route.
Hansen urged governments to use flexibilities in the Common Agricultural Policy, including exemptions for circumstances beyond farmers' control, emergency fertilizer aid, and earlier payments.