EU considers offering Ukraine temporary grain storage capacities

The governments of EU member states are considering providing Ukraine with temporary modular structures for storing harvested grain.

That's according to Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Markiian Dmytrasevych, who spoke at a meeting of EU’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"At the current low rate of exports, Ukraine may have a shortage of storage facilities for its crops at the level of 10-15 million tonnes. Before the war, the total storage capacity was 75 million tonnes for our grain, but today only 60 million tonnes worth of storage capacity remains, while the rest was lost due to destruction and temporary occupation. Therefore, we have an urgent need to set up temporary grain storage – modular structures and plastic bags," said Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Markiian Dmytrasevych, who spoke at a meeting of EU’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council.

According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, EU governments will consider providing Ukraine with such temporary storage capacities. As a result, this should significantly help preserve the crops and ensure future grain supplies to global markets.

Following the meeting, Markiian Dmytrasevych said that the European delegation is expected to visit border checkpoints next week to assess the situation with inspections and further reduce bureaucracy at the borders for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products.

As reported, the European Commission continues to look for the most effective ways to export grain from Russian-blocked Ukrainian ports by land and has created a business platform for contacts between European logistics representatives and Ukrainian grain traders.