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Slower Exports Through Seaports Make the Start of the Harvest Season More Challenging for Farmers
17 July 2026, 08:00 338
Agricultural company IMC has already experienced a slowdown in export volumes through Ukraine’s deep-water seaports.
This was stated by Oleksandr Verzhykhovskyi, Chief Executive Officer of the company, in a comment to AgroPortal.ua.
According to him, while IMC exported an average of 75,000 tonnes per month between January and April 2026, exports declined to 45,000 tonnes per month in May and June. The slowdown was not only related to the traditional completion of shipments from the previous year’s harvest.
«Of course, the company places its main hopes on exports through the ports of Greater Odesa, as this remains the most economically viable route. An alternative is shipping through the Danube ports, which we already used in 2022, but this route is at least $5 per tonne more expensive. It also takes longer, which further reduces the turnover of our railcar fleet, whose efficiency is already far from optimal due to the constant attacks on railway infrastructure,» Oleksandr Verzhykhovskyi said.
He added that, compared with the previous marketing year, logistics costs for rail transportation to ports have already increased by at least $8–10 per tonne this marketing year. This does not yet include the railway freight tariff increase announced by Ukrzaliznytsia.
At the same time, the expert noted that the company has storage capacity for approximately 550,000 tonnes of grain at any one time.
«Our storage capacity is insufficient to accommodate the entire 2026 harvest at one time — approximately 600,000 tonnes of corn, 150,000 tonnes of wheat, and 80,000 tonnes of sunflower. Of course, we can store additional volumes in grain bags, but without a steady flow of sales and shipments, the company will not receive the financial resources required to successfully complete the current season and prepare for the next one. That is why we have to continue selling and shipping our grain,» the IMC CEO added.
Taking all these factors into account, Ukrainian farmers are entering the new marketing year and the harvest season under extremely challenging conditions, Oleksandr Verzhykhovskyi concluded.
Alla Stryzheus, AgroPortal.ua
