Ukraine Weighs Priority Export Access for Higher-Value Farm Goods

Ukraine's agriculture ministry has thrown its weight behind a proposal from farming groups to give priority transport access to higher-value agricultural goods whenever export routes come under strain, Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said on Friday.

Vysotskyi did not indicate when the arrangement might take effect, noting that a working mechanism has yet to be devised.

The move reflects the logistical squeeze facing Ukrainian agriculture since the war with Russia left its seaports effectively blocked. The country is currently able to move only slightly more than half its potential export volumes, relying on the lower-capacity Danube ports and rail links running through Eastern European countries.

According to the ministry, logistics costs have climbed by $50 per metric ton since the seaports were shut.

Oleh Khomenko, who heads the UCAB farming lobby, said the economics of exporting under current conditions clearly favour products with greater added value. He pointed to poultry, which fetches about €3,000 a ton, vegetable oil at roughly $1,200 a ton and oilseed meal at around $900 a ton. Grain, by contrast, sells for only $150 to $170 a ton.

"For agricultural producers, given current logistics costs, it is more economically viable to export products with higher added value," Khomenko said.

A similar pattern emerged during the first years of the war in 2022 and 2023, when Russia also blocked Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Farmers at the time prioritised shipments of higher-value oilseeds, leaving cheaper grain in storage.

Analysts at the consultancy APK-Inform warned that without a resumption of seaport operations, persistent export bottlenecks could drive carryover grain stocks to a record 24.7 million tons by the end of the 2026/27 season — roughly one-third of the 2026 harvest.