Despite the resumption of the grain initiative, rail deliveries of grain to the Black Sea ports have sharply decreased

Ukrzaliznytsia records a significant reduction in wagon deliveries of grain to the ports of Greater Odessa, despite the resumption of the grain corridor, the company's commercial operations department reported.

"If earlier the rate of daily unloading of wagons with grain in the ports of Odesa was 700-900 wagons, now it has decreased to 92 wagons. In May, the average daily unloading of wagons with grain was 243 wagons. As of May 22, 962 wagons with grain cargo were moving in the direction of the ports of Great Odesa, and the waiting time in the queue was 10.5 days," the message says.

In the port of Izmail, which is an alternative to the Black Sea ports of Ukraine, a critical situation has developed with the accumulated wagons. As of May 17, 2,428 wagons with grain cargoes were moving towards the port, while only 94 wagons were unloaded. As a result of the change of vessels under loading, the average daily unloading rate decreased to 87 wagons in May, so the waiting time for unloading increased to 25.8 days.

Another reason for the accumulation of wagons in the port of Izmail is the reorientation of cargo flows due to the blocking of the grain corridor and the restriction of exports to neighboring countries.

In addition, the work is slowed down by the low level of technical support for operators (lack of covered warehouses, powerful equipment for unloading) and the high dependence of the port's work on weather conditions.