Ukraine exported 3 million metric tons of food in October from its Black Sea ports and ports of the Danube River, Spike Brokers, which regularly tracks and publishes export statistics in Ukraine, said on Wednesday.

It gave no comparative figures. Agriculture ministry data showed that 2.3 million tons of agricultural goods left Ukrainian ports in September.

Ukraine is trying to build up a new shipping lane along the north-western coast of the Black Sea to Romanian territorial waters to revive its vital seaborne exports after Russia quit a U.N.-brokered deal in July that allowed Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports, despite the war.

Russia has said it would consider any vessel a potential military target after it quit the deal.

Brokers did not explain the increase in export volumes but said that the use of the alternative Black Sea corridor was limited by a daily restriction on the number of vessels entering and leaving.

“These restrictions are set by the Ukrainian Navy to ensure the safety of the convoy,” the company said in a report.

The Ukrainian farm ministry said a total of 9.2 million tons of grain were exported from the country so far in the 2023/24 (July-June) season as of Nov. 1.

Ukraine is expected to harvest 79 million tons of grain and oilseed in 2023, with the 2023/24 exportable surplus seen at about 50 million tons.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)