What will happen to Ukrainian grains? An overview of the current situation, available options and likely impacts on food prices and food security

The inability of Ukraine to export from its Black Sea ports has sharply reduced grain shipments from one of the breadbaskets of the world, sending shockwaves through international food markets and sparking global food security concerns. While some grain has moved out of the country on alternative routes, export volumes are less than half of their normal levels, and the costs of shipping have increased significantly. If grains continue to be stuck in Ukraine, the country’s storage capacity will likely be exhausted with the harvest of the spring-planted crops this fall, constraining farmer income and their capacity to plant next season.

This webinar will discuss recent efforts to alleviate Ukraine’s storage and transportation problems caused by the war. It will also explore the challenges facing Ukrainian producers and the country’s grain sector, especially regarding the impact of reduced export capacity and higher transportation costs on farm incomes. Presenters will further explore efforts to shift grain trade and the impact of those shifts on broader regional and global markets.

You can find the replay here.

 Moderator

• Joe Glauber, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI and AMIS Secretary ad interim

Presenters

• Nikolay Gorbachov, President, Ukrainian Grain Association
• Alexander Karavaytsev, Senior Economist, IGC

Discussants

• Erin Collier, Economist, FAO
• Lucas Dorrestein, Global Head of Operations, Viterra
• Seth Meyer, Chief Economist, USDA and AMIS Chair