Under conditions of enemy attacks, the Ukrainian agricultural sector is forced to simultaneously restructure domestic logistics and ensure the stable supply of food, resolve financing issues for conducting the sowing campaign, and expand alternative export routes.

This was reported by the Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC), Denys Marchuk, on the air of the "My — Ukraina" (We Are Ukraine) TV channel.

The main problem remains financial support for the agricultural sector. This concerns €220 million in emergency aid that Ukraine was counting on under conditions of the complication of exports through the sea ports.

"It is disappointing to hear statements regarding the refusal of EU financial support, but we hope that this is not Brussels' final decision. Ukraine needs to continue active communication with its European partners. The €220 million in aid is very important money for continuing the sowing campaign of winter crops. The resources that the state is currently directing to the relevant support programs will be insufficient to cover all the needs of farmers. That is why great hopes were placed on European financing. These funds could work through credit mechanisms and banking programs and help cover the interest on loans for producers. For the agricultural sector under the current conditions, this is extremely important," Marchuk emphasized.

In parallel, Ukraine is working on expanding the possibilities of land logistics. According to him, there are effectively no fundamentally new alternative routes, so it is necessary to maximize the efficiency of the already existing corridors through neighboring states.

The current agreements with Moldova regarding railway tariffs make it possible to transport Ukrainian cargo through its territory in the direction of the Romanian port of Constanța. Active negotiations are also ongoing with Poland.

"The volumes of transportation of Ukrainian agricultural products through Poland amount to about 300 thousand tonnes. We see the possibility of significantly increasing this figure through improvements in operations at customs. It is necessary to strengthen joint control and, at the same time, remove procedures that duplicate one another. This concerns, in particular, work with veterinary certificates. Through such solutions, the volumes of products transported via the Polish direction could be increased to at least 600 thousand tonnes. That is, in fact, this concerns the possibility of doubling the current transportation volumes. These negotiations have not stopped and are continuing," the Deputy Chairman of the UAC reported.

According to him, the discussion with European countries regarding Ukrainian agricultural exports remains difficult due to fears of competition from Ukraine. At the same time, restricting Ukrainian supplies to world markets contributes to rising prices and gives producers of other countries the opportunity to sell grain at higher prices.

In addition to the problems with external logistics, because of Russian strikes Ukraine is forced to restructure the system of food supply within the country. Additional logistics costs may affect the final price of products.

"Today, difficulties are arising with the delivery of food: goods need to be transported, and part of the large stocks was concentrated in warehouses. This does not mean that entire categories of products will disappear from the shelves. For example, during a certain period there may be no two or three brands of dairy products, but local producers will be able to supply them directly. However, the question of price arises, since the additional logistics burden increases costs. Large retailers are already restructuring their logistics and now must necessarily take the security factor into account; the supply system has to work differently," Denys Marchuk noted.

Another problem for producers is becoming the distribution of risks in the event of the destruction of products in warehouses. According to Marchuk, in some cases the losses may be shifted directly onto the supplier. Therefore, business is awaiting decisions on war risk insurance mechanisms that could reduce the financial burden on producers.