Ukraine's agricultural exports shifted further towards western land routes in October, with rail overtaking waterborne shipments for the first time, customs data show.
Exporters cleared 2.45mn t of agricultural products through physical border crossings in October, up by 3pc from a revised 2.37mn t in September but 41pc lower on the year. Rail became the main corridor, carrying 1.19mn t, or 49pc of total flows, supported by heavy traffic into Hungary and Poland.
Waterborne shipments fell by 16pc from September to 1mn t as Danube terminals handled 843,000t, down by 17pc on the month. Persistent queues at the Sulina Canal, strikes on commercial vessels and priority for vegetable oils pushed dry bulk barges down waiting lists.
Exports through Pivdennyi, Odesa, Chornomorsk (POC) remained subdued at 159,000t, or 6pc of total outflows.
Meanwhile, ferry shipments at Orlivka to Romania rose to a record 101,000t from 5,000t a year earlier, as operators used roll-on/roll-off and containerised trucks to bypass river delays.
River and port constraints cut grain shipments by 6pc on the month to 1.26mn t. Wheat remained the top export at 974,000t, down by 3pc from September. Rail handled a third of wheat shipments, while waterways took 62pc, with export declarations led by Egypt, Algeria, Italy and Spain. Corn exports were flat on the month at 246,000t, down by 78pc year on year. Prohibitive domestic freight from distant central and northern growing areas discouraged deliveries to the Danube. Rail carried 87pc of corn outflows, while waterborne shipments took just 6pc, with desinations led by Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
Seasonal supply, commercial incentives and regulatory support boosted oilseeds. Quick harvests and higher unit values gave exporters more scope to absorb high freight costs, along with the Ukraine government prioritising berthing for vegetable oil cargoes. The country's rapeseed shipments reached 370,000t in October, with rail handling 59pc, supported by German and Dutch demand. Soybean outflows rose to 91,000t, with 94pc moving by rail into Poland and Hungary. Domestic crusher backlogs pushed raw sunflower seed outflows to 60,000t.
New-crop processing lifted sunflower oil exports by 34pc on the month to 208,000t, but waterborne channels handled under half, or 49pc, of outflows for the first time. Rail and road tankers absorbed 30pc and 18pc, respectively, with declarations led by Romania and Turkey. Meal exports reached 353,000t, with rail taking 60pc.
