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EU to open 'solidarity lanes' to help Ukraine's grain exports
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IANS | 13 May, 2022
The
European Commission has proposed to establish new so-called "solidarity
lanes" to ensure that Ukraine can export grain to the European Union
(EU) and also import the goods it needs, from humanitarian aid to animal
feed and fertilizers, as the war-torn nation's ports have been blocked
due to the conflict.
Ukraine's inability to export its
agricultural produce through Black Sea ports because of the blockade is
threatening global food security and has prompted the development of an
action plan to overcome this hurdle, Xinhua news agency quoted the
Commission as saying in a statement.
Under normal circumstances,
Ukraine exports 75 per cent of the grain it produces, generating around
20 per cent of its annual export revenues.
Before the conflict, Ukraine's Black Sea ports handled 90 per cent of its grain and oilseed exports.
"Twenty
million tonnes of grains have to leave Ukraine in less than three
months using the EU infrastructure," Transport Commissioner Adina Valean
said in a statement.
"This is a gigantesque challenge, so it is
essential to coordinate and optimize the logistic chains, put in place
new routes and avoid, as much as possible, the bottlenecks."
The
Commission said that in spite of immediate efforts by the EU and its
member states to ease border crossings between Ukraine and the EU,
thousands of wagons and lorries are waiting for clearance on the
Ukrainian side.
The average current waiting time for wagons is 16 days, while it is up to 30 days at some borders.
More grain is still stored and held back in Ukrainian silos ready for export.
Among
the challenges are differing rail gauge widths since the wagons used in
Ukraine are not compatible with most of the EU rail network, so most
goods need to be transhipped to lorries or wagons that fit the EU
standard gauge.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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