Opening of ports is the fastest way to economic recovery – Kubrakov

The access of steelmakers and farmers to this logistics will expand export opportunities

Restoring the full operation of Ukrainian deep-sea ports is the fastest way to improve the economic situation in Ukraine. This was announced by the Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov at the conference on the future of domestic exports, organized by Economic Truth, Uaprom.info informs.

According to him, the access of agrarian, steel and other companies to this logistics will significantly expand their export opportunities and increase foreign currency income to the country.

As the minister noted, in the context of economic recovery, insurance and investment projects are important topics. However, a factor that can quickly and significantly change the situation is the restoration of normal logistics and the operation of Ukrainian deep-sea ports.

«In this case, the agricultural market earns more, receives a completely different margin, can compete and invest. In the same way, the steel industry can begin to work no longer at 20-30% of capacity. And these are billions of dollars of foreign exchange revenue – about $1.6 billion of additional income every month,» the minister explained.

According to him, the state leadership is currently working with Ukrainian partners to strengthen air defense capabilities in the southern region to protect the port infrastructure. Negotiations are also underway with the governments of the United States and Great Britain regarding mechanisms that can reduce the cost of insurance for cargo owners in Ukraine.

According to Kubrakov, according to Economic truth, the country managed to restore the operation of the ports of Great Odesa without the participation of third parties, which became possible thanks to the military prerequisites. Currently, 10 ships have already passed through the Ukrainian Black Sea corridor established by the Ukrainian Navy – not only with agricultural products, but also with steel products for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

As GMK Center reported earlier, on October 1, 2023, three vessels with agricultural products and iron ore left the ports of Chornomorsk and Pivdenny. Previously, the sea blockade of the Russian Federation was broken by three ships with the products of Ukrainian steelmakers, produced even before the start of the full-scale invasion The Primus, Anna Tereza and Ocean Courtesy ships left the ports of Odesa and Pivdenny, which were blocked from February 24, 2022. There were more than 76,000 tons of rolled steel on board, as well as 172,000 tons of iron ore concentrate.