The restoration of shipping on the Danube-Black Sea Canal allows us to hope for the unblocking of the ports

For 138 days, Ukraine has resisted Russia's military aggression thanks to the courage of the Defenders and the modern weapons provided by its partners, and step by step it is regaining its territories, inflicting losses on the enemy.

The liberation of Zmiiny Island allowed for the resumption of navigation through the Ukrainian channel from the ports of Reni and Izmail to the Black Sea, which boosts the export of Ukrainian products. During the period of blocking of the mouth of the Bystre, Ukrainian sellers used the alternative Romanian Sulin channel, where, unlike the Ukrainian channel, the movement of ships is one-way, therefore, in recent months, large traffic jams and queues of ships have formed there.

The Administration of Seaports of Ukraine reported that on July 8, two barge-towing caravans, consisting of 1 tug and 1 barge each, were passed through the Ukrainian channel. Currently, vessels with a maximum safe draft in seawater of no more than 3.9 m can navigate the channel and the Bystre mouth only during daylight hours.

The market is waiting for July 14, when a test vessel is planned to be launched from Odesa, which, if successful, will allow exports to resume and increase foreign exchange earnings and farmers' profits.

The Ministry of Defense of Turkey reported that the situation with grain corridors for unblocking exports from Ukraine is close to being resolved. Turkey is a neighbor of Ukraine and Russia on the Black Sea, therefore, in contact with the UN, it held very productive negotiations with the presidents of both countries.

At the same time, Turkey declares that it does not recognize the occupation of Crimea and respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and President Erdogan made great efforts to prevent a heated conflict until the last minute, and is now working on at least a temporary cessation of hostilities in Ukraine to improve the humanitarian situation.

People's deputy Anatoliy Urbanskyi said on the air of the national telethon that on July 14, a test steamer with grain will leave Odesa. If everything goes well, the number of ships will increase. Perhaps Russia will agree to the creation of a military convoy to accompany the ships, if it is exclusively Turkish, since the countries have friendly relations. However, Turkey wants to receive 20% of the value of the goods on merchant ships, which, accompanied by a convoy, will go to Turkish ports for further shipment to other countries. Ukrainian traders are unlikely to agree to this, as they will incur significant additional costs in this case.

According to the experts of Barva Invest, it is not yet clear whether we are talking about the permanent unblocking of the ports or just the removal from them of ships that have been there since February. In the case of resumption of shipping, there may be problems with insurance of ships - international companies will not insure ships that are heading to a country where there is a war. Although this problem can be solved by international organizations, in particular the UN.

Even a partial recovery of sea exports will stimulate grain purchases by traders, which will support domestic prices. World prices, against the background of increased offers from Ukraine, may decrease, but will still remain high, especially given the reduction in wheat and barley production in the new season.