Ukraine asks EU for €1.1 billion to keep grain exports moving via European routes
Speaking in Brussels, Ukraine's Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky asked the EU for €1.1 billion in aid to cover the extra cost of moving Ukrainian grain through European land routes after deep-water Black Sea ports were blocked. The proposed support would compensate European carriers and logistics operators, not Ukrainian farmers directly, at up to €50 per ton for shipments to remote EU ports. Officials warn that without alternative routes, up to 30 million tons of agricultural products could go unexported.
Key points
- Ukraine is requesting €1.1 billion from the EU to cover logistics costs for grain transiting through European territory to ports and export hubs.
- Compensation would go to EU carriers and logistics operators, not directly to Ukrainian farmers, at up to €50 per ton.
- Up to 30 million tons of agricultural products worth about $10 billion may remain unexported, officials say.
- Ukrainian farmers may be forced to cut spring sowing areas by 35–40%.
- The Ukrainian economy could lose up to 5% of GDP and budget revenues could fall by up to 90 billion UAH per year.
- The 1.3 million ton EU quota on Ukrainian wheat imports has been reintroduced and is already exhausted.
- Germany backed the push for additional routes and longer Solidarity Lanes through Germany and other EU countries.
Why it matters
Ukraine's agricultural sector is in what officials describe as its most critical state since the start of the full-scale invasion. The prolonged blocking of deep-water ports in Greater Odesa has cut off the country's main export channel, leaving farmers unable to move grain at viable cost. With up to 30 million tons of produce at risk of staying unsold, sowing areas potentially shrinking by more than a third, and budget losses that could reach 90 billion UAH a year, the outcome of this EU request will shape both Ukraine's wartime finances and global food supply to traditional buyers in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
What happened
At a meeting on the sidelines of the EU Council on Agriculture and Fisheries (AGRIFISH) in Brussels, Ukraine's Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky asked the European Union for €1.1 billion to create a temporary support mechanism covering the extra cost of moving Ukrainian grain through EU territory to European ports and export hubs. The compensation would go to European carriers and logistics operators inside the EU at a rate of up to €50 per ton, rather than directly to Ukrainian farmers, with the aim of preserving traditional supply flows to Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Vysotsky also met the German side separately; Germany backed the search for additional routes, including longer Solidarity Lanes through Germany and other EU countries, and the two sides discussed the Grüne Woche exhibition in Berlin and a proposed joint panel at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture 2027. Officials warned that without functioning alternative routes, up to 30 million tons of agricultural products worth about $10 billion could remain unexported, farmers could cut spring sowing by 35–40%, the economy could lose up to 5% of GDP, and budget revenues could fall by as much as 90 billion UAH a year. They estimated that the requested aid would let Ukraine export roughly 22 million additional tons and earn over $7–8 billion in revenue.
Background
Ukraine's deep-water ports in Greater Odesa have been blocked, cutting off the main channel for grain shipments and forcing reliance on more expensive overland and river routes. The EU has reintroduced a 1.3 million ton quota on Ukrainian wheat imports and that quota is already used up, so further volumes can only transit EU territory rather than reach the European market from customs warehouses. In an earlier Bloomberg interview, Vysotsky said Ukrainian farmers will have enough money roughly until the New Year, but warned of a sharper funding crunch in spring if Black Sea exports remain blocked.