Vaja Jhashi on the Port Blockade: The Danube Experience Gives Farmers Hope
Sea export of grain is paralyzed in the height of the harvest season. Since July 22, foreign vessels have been refusing to call at Ukrainian ports. In this situation, the Danube route, which has already saved Ukrainian exports once before, becomes particularly vital.
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Vaja Jhashi, owner of the Trans-Oil Group, whose terminals in the Port of Reni have operated throughout all the years of the full-scale war, shared this perspective in a comment to Regionews.ua.
The consequences of the new blockade are already tangible for farmers: wheat in Ukraine costs $140–150 per ton compared to $250–260 in Romania or France, and if the port shutdown is prolonged, a surplus of 27–32 million tons of grain could form on the domestic market.
The experience of 2022 shows there is a way out. When Russia blocked the Black Sea harbors, only three sea ports were able to operate — Izmail, Reni, and Ust-Dunaisk. According to the European Business Association, over 10 million tons of grain passed through the Danube in the 2022/23 season — about 21% of the country’s total grain exports.
Trans-Oil terminals operated at their maximum capacity back then — around 800 thousand tons per year. «The Ukrainian farmer must survive. For them, a functioning route is an opportunity to sell the harvest, obtain operational funds, pay their workers, and sow the next season, ” Jhashiemphasized.
According to him, the value of export channels is measured not only in tons, but also in the farms that keep operating, employment in rural regions, and motivation to sow the next crop.