With Ukraine’s ports blocked, trains haul grain

VIENNA — A train carrying 2,000 metric tons of Ukrainian corn arrived in Austria on Friday, part of European efforts to elude a Russian blockade of Ukraine’s ports that has prevented critical supplies of wheat, corn and other grains from getting to countries in Africa, Middle East and parts of Asia.

Standing in front of a rail car adorned with the Austrian and Ukrainian flags, Austria’s farming minister, Elisabeth Koestinger, said the shipment marked the establishment of a “green corridor” for important cargo shipments between the two countries.

“Grain and animal feed exports can’t leave Ukraine via the sea route. That’s why we are creating green corridors,” Koestinger said.

The shipment comes amid a wider struggle to cope with disruptions to global food supplies triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with both countries two of the world’s biggest suppliers of wheat, barley and sunflower oil. Russia is also a major exporter of fertilizers that farmers need to grow crops.

The potential loss of affordable grain supplies that millions around the world rely on for cheap bread and noodles has raised the risk of food shortages and political instability in countries where many people already were not getting enough to eat. With food prices already soaring, the high cost of fertilizers and cooking oils are further squeezing the global food chain.

To help ease the crunch in a small way, trains will carry up to 60,000 metric tons of grain from Ukraine to Austria every month, adding to similar shipments to Germany. Those exports circumvent Russia’s blockade of Odessa, Ukraine’s largest port.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Austria, Vasyl Khymynets, called the new land route an important symbol of Ukraine’s cooperation with its partners. “We are looking for routes to supply the world with food,” he said.