Ukraine’s Farmers Despair as Russia’s Black Sea Attacks Trap Their Harvest

Russian strikes curb exports from Black Sea ports Ukraine’s grain exports fall by 75% in first two weeks of August Domestic grain prices have dropped below production costs, threatening next year’s sowing Finding alternative routes has become harder

ZHYTOMYR REGION — Ukrainian farmer Serhiy Rybalko lost two-thirds of his land when Russia occupied a large part of southern Ukraine at the start of the invasion in 2022.

Now he is suffering a different kind of torment as a potentially good harvest is thrown into jeopardy by a Russian campaign of attacks that has almost halted agricultural exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.

Ukraine is among the world’s largest producers of wheat, corn and sunflower seeds, and around 90% of its exports of such crops go through the Black Sea.

Compounding the problem, Ukraine’s wheat harvesting campaign is at its peak. Rybalko’s grain storage is already nearly full, and Ukraine’s corn harvest is due to start next month.

“There is nowhere to send this grain,” the 57-year-old farmer said as he stood at his silo. “This is a complete disaster for farmers.”

Previously, Rybalko sold to major Ukrainian grain exporter Nibulon and to local processing plants, but now no one is buying, he said. Nibulon did not respond to a request for comment.

“Everything has just stopped. Finances have ground to a halt. Revenue streams have dried up. There are no exports,” Rybalko said.

Implications for Ukraine and the global economy

Farming accounts for nearly 60% of Ukraine’s export revenues, and the blockade adds pressure to the fragile wartime economy.

Ukraine has increased its attacks on Russian vessels in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, as each side in the more than four-year war tries to cripple the other’s economy.

As Russia is also a major food exporter, the escalation has major implications for inflation, as record heatwaves and war in the Middle East, as well as in Ukraine, drive up costs.

“Ukraine supplies around 6% of the world’s wheat and around 11% of its corn,” said Denys Marchuk, deputy head of Ukraine’s main farmers’ union UAC.

He warned of famine in some import-dependent countries across Africa and the Middle East, which are major buyers of Ukrainian grain, unless supplies arrived on time.