Kremlin Struggles to Maintain Black Sea Grain Exports Amid Ukraine Strikes

The Kremlin is taking steps to mitigate the impact of strikes on Black Sea grain exports as global importers fear supply disruptions during the peak export season, according to a Reuters report. The tit-for-tat attacks by Russia and Ukraine have led to the shutdown of grain terminals and delayed or canceled loadings for dozens of cargoes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged last week that his country was experiencing problems with agricultural exports but pledged there would be no shortages on global markets. He said Russia plans to export about 60 million tons of grain this season, a figure the SovEcon consultancy estimates will rise slightly in August to 2.2 million tons from 1.95 million tons in July.

However, this still represents a decline of more than half from the 4.5 million tons exported in August last year. To offset these disruptions, the Russian government is considering state grain purchases, extending subsidized loans, and subsidizing sales.