Ukraine produces 10% of the world's wheat reserves, 16% of corn and about half of sunflower oil. But the war made it difficult to export products. In peacetime, the country exported 6 million tons of grain per month, most of which went through ports in the Black Sea.. But a Russian naval blockade brought that trade to a halt, writes The Economist..

Rail, road and river routes can carry less than 2 million tons per month. This means inventories are piling up and the problem is about to get worse.. In June, wheat sown before winter becomes hard and golden.. But a fifth of Ukrainian elevators or storage facilities are damaged by shelling or are located in Russian-occupied territories.. And the country already has a backlog with last season - more than 20 million tons of harvested grain, says Deputy Minister of Agriculture Taras Vysotsky. What will farmers do with the new crop

Farmers in southern Ukraine have already started harvesting winter crops; other regions will start soon. Although production is expected to fall by one third this year, the Ukrainian Grain Association, an industry organization, still expects an annual harvest of 26 million tons of corn, 19 million tons of wheat, 7 million? tons of barley and 13 million tons of oilseeds. Some farmers would rather hoard grain in the hope that ports will eventually reopen than see expensive transit to Poland or Romania eat into their profits.. The government believes that this year Ukraine will not have enough suitable storage facilities for 10-15 million tons. The grain association believes that the difference could reach 25 million tons.

A crop that is not stored can rot or be stolen. To avoid this, farmers go out of their way to secure silage bags - long polyurethane sleeves that can hold about 200 tons of grain each.. According to Vysotsky, about 50 thousand such " The government is also ordering mobile storage that can be installed in the fields to protect grain from bad weather and pests.. Meanwhile, smaller manufacturers are making deals to rent warehouse space.. But they are often not government-certified and typically do not have industrial dryers, putting crops at risk of spoilage.. Corn can also be left in the fields for the winter, although at a risk to quality and yield..

Western allies, faced with rising world food prices, offered their help. On June 14, US President Joe Biden promised to build temporary storage facilities on the border between Poland and Ukraine.. This could give some respite during the corn harvest, which starts in September.. But "

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In any case, such remedies may be only partial and costly.. Anticipating higher logistics costs, some Ukrainian farmers are rethinking their crop mix in favor of more profitable varieties. Bohdan Kostecki, founder of agricultural consulting company Barva Invest near Kyiv, says farmers have already replaced about a third of marginal corn with rapeseed and sunflower seeds..

Others may decide to skip next season altogether.. In addition to reducing export earnings and raising fertilizer prices, the war left farmers with destroyed machinery and cut them off from fields in the occupied territories.. Ivan Miroshnichenko, a wheat farmer in Alexandria, a four-hour drive southeast of Kyiv, says he has little hope. "

Earlier it was reported that none of the countries that depend on grain from Ukraine protested against the war, but began to negotiate with other countries.