U.S. President Joe Biden said temporary grain silos would be built along Ukraine's western borders to help the country, which was invaded by Russia in late February, export more grain.

During his speech at a Philadelphia trade union convention, Biden said the United States plans to "work closely with our European partners to put 20 million tons of blocked grain in Ukraine on the market to help reduce food prices. He cannot cross the Black Sea because he will be blown out of the water."

Biden was referring to the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports that includes the laying of sea mines. With much of the old harvest still stored, Ukrainian authorities said they are running out of storage for the new grain crop.

Although temporary grain silos on the country's western border are welcome, the amount of grain that can be transported by rail to Western Europe is negligible compared to the grain shipping capacity of ports. Grain transport by train and truck presents some challenges, including limited trucking capacity and the need to reconfigure wagons at the border to suit a narrower gauge used in other countries.

Ukraine's ports are partially damaged or destroyed, Bratchuk said, but those in partial operating conditions cannot yet be used because of the blockade. One of the largest grain terminals, Nika-Tera in Mykolaiv, was destroyed a few days ago, Bratchuk said. This terminal had the capacity to store up to 500,000 tons of grain at a time and is equipped with three bulk loading machines.

Source: Agrolink