In the port of Constanța, dockers have been working for months to load Ukrainian grain onto transport vessels, in addition to the quantities of grain from Romania and other landlocked countries that they normally load, writes Reuters. Although Moscow and Kiev have reached an agreement on the safe transport of Ukrainian grain through three of the remaining ports under Ukrainian control, Romanian operators expect grain deliveries from Ukraine to continue until the agreement signed in Turkey can be fully implemented.
New goods are continuously arriving in Constanța. The export route through the Romanian Black Sea port is one of the few options available to Ukraine to transport its grain to other countries.
Exporters have shipped 1.46 million tonnes of Ukrainian wheat through the port of Constanta since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, which blocked Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.
The first grain ship left the port of Odesa on Monday after Ukraine and Russia reached an agreement on shipping Ukrainian grain through three of the remaining ports under Kiev's control. The Razoni ship, under the flag of Sierra Leone, arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday where it was inspected by a team of Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian and UN representatives, then it was going to leave for Lebanon, its final destination.
Throughout the duration of the agreement, Turkey expects a grain carrier to leave Ukrainian ports every day.
In Romania, wheat arrives by train, truck or barge from Reni and Izmail, the Ukrainian ports on the Danube. Comvex, a Romanian port operator, said it will load two vessels by the end of the week – one will carry 30,500 tonnes of Ukrainian and Romanian corn to Libya, and the second will be loaded with 45,000 tonnes of corn from Ukraine which will be exported to Iran.
"It all depends on how the Istanbul deal will work and the quantities Ukrainian ports can deliver," Comvex manager Viorel Panait told Reuters. "We wholeheartedly want them to be able to get their supply chains back on track. But we are here, ready to help."
Comvex invested 4 million euros in an additional unloading platform that became operational at the end of July and raised its processing capacity to 84,000 tons unloaded and 70,000 tons loaded per day.
The Port of Constanța last year delivered a record amount of grain from Romania and several landlocked countries, Austria, Serbia, Hungary and the Republic of Moldova: 25.2 million tons.
Comvex handled around 70% of all grain and other cargo from Ukraine that arrived in Constanta, including 800,000 tons of iron ore. The company plans to invest 60 million euros over the next two years to increase processing capacity, according to Panait.
Transport from Ukraine has been slowed by infrastructure problems and low water levels in the Danube after several weeks of high temperatures and drought.
Port authorities said 183,581 tonnes of grain was heading to Constanța, where it would continue to export goods from Ukraine that are not covered by the agreement signed in Istanbul, such as steel products, iron ore and pipes.
The Constanța Port Business Association, led by Panait, said the 10 port operators that handle goods in Ukraine will need equipment worth 340 million euros to be able to increase the speed with which they process goods.
They requested funds from the European Union and state guarantees for loans. The Romanian government told Reuters this month it was considering implementing a pilot program to purchase equipment "to increase the operating speed of grain terminals" and was working to rehabilitate 35 railway lines serving the port and unblock the tracks on which lie hundreds of rusted wagons.
Known as the "granary of Europe", Ukraine hopes to be able to export 20 million tons of grain stuck in silos because of the war and another 40 tons from the new crop. The three ports from which the transport ships will depart are Odesa, Pivdeni (Iujni) and Chiornomorsk.