Wheat deliveries: Romania groans under Ukraine transports

Romania’s border crossings and ports are at the limit: In the course of the Russian war of aggression, Ukraine is diverting its grain to the neighboring country. But there you can hardly keep up with handling the enormous quantities.

The quantities are enormous, the capacities limited: Romania’s border crossings are reaching their limits in view of the volume of grain transports from Ukraine by land, rail or sea – and far beyond. Last weekend, for example, Ukrainian and Moldovan exporters protested massively against the very long waiting times at the Giurgiulesti border crossing, in the border triangle between Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. The trucks would sometimes have to wait five to seven days until they were dispatched.

A few days ago, Augustin Hagiu, the president of the Association of Romanian Freight Companies, vented his anger on the TV station B1: “The work program for the employees was to be extended there.” He would employ a 24-hour work schedule. Because if you arrive late, you have to wait until morning. “And the queue can be four, five or sometimes even six to seven days, depending on the case.”

Truck traffic increased by 400 percent

In the meantime, the border police have given the all-clear signal in some cases. Wait times have been reduced to an hour. It’s no wonder that Romania’s border crossings for goods have been congested since the Russian war of aggression. In Giurgiulesti alone, truck traffic increased by almost 400 percent compared to the previous year. No other Romanian customs crossing is used as intensively as this one.

Time is running out. According to the United Nations, up to 25 million tons of grain are currently still stored in the Ukrainian silos. In six weeks, when harvest time begins, another 40 million tons of grain will be added. In front of the small port of Sulina, the only town in the Romanian part of the Danube Delta at the mouth of the Black Sea, more than 100 ships with Ukrainian grain loads are now waiting to enter the Sulina Canal.

Ukrainian, Moldovan and Romanian officials therefore met for a crisis meeting on Thursday of this week. Until now, this long-neglected, small port was set up to handle three to four ships a day. According to the authorities, the neighboring small Ukrainian Danube ports of Reni and Ismail are full of ships and barges. However, the main transhipment port is Constanta, the largest port in Romania.

200 million euros for rails

But the rail connection to the port facilities is underdeveloped. According to Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu, there are almost 100 railway tracks that have not been used for decades. In addition, 700 abandoned freight cars were parked there, half of which have since been removed. “The other wagons cannot be driven away because they are badly decayed and overgrown,” the minister said.

He announced that 200 million euros will now be invested in improving the rail infrastructure. Because in the coming weeks and months it will be important “how we can develop our port capacities. And not just for Romania.” Marian Jean Marinescu, Romanian member of the European Parliament, agrees.

The volume of cargo coming from Ukraine is very large. “There is not yet enough capacity to transfer such a large amount of cargo onto the ships.” That’s true: Because the Ukraine was only able to transport 240,000 tons of grain through the port of Constanta by mid-May, as port manager Florin Goidea told the Reuters news agency. This corresponds to one percent of the grain that is currently still waiting in Ukraine for export.

Romania in a key position

The Romanian EU Transport Commissioner Adina Valean is therefore calling for so-called “solidarity corridors” – i.e. new transport routes, more efficient customs controls and significantly more vehicles: This is a major challenge for the European Union and for the countries in Ukraine’s neighborhood, she said. Due to its geographical position and its capacities, Romania is one of the key players in the reorganization of logistics chains.

“The port of Constanta is now the gateway for Ukrainian grain exports to southern markets in North Africa and the Middle East,” Valean said the export of Ukrainian grain can be maintained and supported.