Ukraine to increase export capacity of Danube ports

Ukraine aims to expand the export capacity of the Danube Cluster. This was stated by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, according to the Government Portal.

According to the head of government, more than 20 new transshipment points have been opened in the Danube cluster during the two years of the full-scale invasion. Currently, the Danube ports handle 3.3 million tons of cargo per month.

Denys Shmyhal noted that exports via the Ukrainian sea corridor, which was launched in August 2023, will reach 30 million tons in the near future. According to him, the goal is to achieve stable indicators of the 2021 level in maritime transportation.

In addition, the Prime Minister mentioned exports to the EU by land and resolving the border blockade as the key points that will help strengthen the domestic economy.

According to USPA, Ukrainian ports of the Danube cluster handled a record 29 million tons of cargo in 2023. This is 2 times more than in the previous year and 6 times more than in 2021. The number of vessels handled last year doubled to 13.04 thousand units compared to 8.94 thousand in 2022.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in February, Ukraine announced plans to create an additional export route via the Danube to avoid transportation through Poland. This was reported by Bloomberg with reference to Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery and Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure. The new additional route across the Danube is intended to increase Ukrainian exports to the level they were at the beginning of the war.