Ukraine To Create New Export Route Along River Danube, Bypassing Polish Border

Ukraine plans to create a new export route along the Danube River, bypassing the border with Poland

The Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.

"The plans for this year are to remove all artificial obstacles for exporters, and we are working on improving domestic logistics. We are planning to transport containers through the upper Danube, as Romania is ‘more predictable’ than the Polish border," Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov said in comments to Bloomberg at the Munich Security Conference.

The new additional route through the Danube River is intended to increase Ukraine’s exports to the level they were at the beginning of the war. Although many exporters prefer the Black Sea because it is cheaper, volumes via the Danube still amount to 1.2 million-1.8 million tons per month, Kubrakov said.

According to the minister, the proposed new route would run from the Ukrainian port of Izmail to Romania's Constanta and Germany's Danube ports.

Recently, the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company and the No Suggestions Available Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure announced the construction of a second large-tonnage SLG barge and the preparations to launch barge container caravans in the Middle and Upper Danube.

The Danube became a priority route for Ukrainian supplies after Russia pulled out of a UN- and Turkish-backed deal to create a safe grain corridor in the Black Sea last year.

However, Kyiv has also used the road and rail for trade throughout the war, and export volumes via Poland have currently fallen to 300,000 tons per month from 1.3 million in 2022 with automobile crossings completely blocked.

"It is definitely not a threat to Polish farmers because we transport not only agricultural goods but also parts for German car manufacturers and processed products that are not destined for Poland," the minister said. "Blocking the border means billions in losses for both our economy and the economies of the European Union."