MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. The situation on Ukraine’s agricultural market is becoming critical and is developing into a perfect storm that is hitting agricultural producers particularly hard, Ukraine’s industry publication Agroportal reported after surveying sector experts.

The publication noted that agricultural exports from the Greater Odessa ports have been completely blocked at the height of the harvest season, but the current situation is far more critical than in 2022 because agricultural producers now need working capital both for the planting season and to meet their debt obligations to banks, while farmers are unable to receive initial proceeds from the sale of their harvest.

However, experts noted that the difference between 2022 and the current situation lies in prices. In 2022, grain cost $380-400 per metric ton, and that price was high enough to absorb the increase in logistics costs. Today, with grain priced at around $230 per metric ton, higher logistics costs make exporting agricultural products unprofitable.