Polish port expects to up Ukrainian grain exports

STORY: Trucks full of corn are rumbling into Poland's northern port of Gdansk.

Managers at the facility say they expect large increases in the amount of Ukrainian grain it handles over the next year.

The conflict in Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain exporters, has heightened concerns about food security worldwide, driving up prices to record levels this year.

The country has struggled to export goods with war raging along its southern coast and many of its ports blocked.

Rafal Rozanski is manager of the bulk terminal at Gdansk.

"In July, August, and for the next entire season until June 2023, we assume an increase of approximately 500% to 600% in the reloading of Ukrainian goods."

Before the war, Ukraine exported more than 90% of its grain and oilseeds via its Black Sea ports, moving up to 6 million tonnes per month.

Now much has to go overland, but a Ukranian truck driver says it's a slow process:

"Long, there is a long queue at the border. Lots of cars from the Ukrainian side. Before I reached the Ukrainian border, I had been standing for four days. I crossed the Polish border in one day, and came here, to Gdansk, to offload."

Rozanski said improvements to the port of Gdansk could help it to take the place of Ukrainian ports such as Odesa while they're out of action.