“The outlook is bleak for both the world and Bulgaria if the safety of shipping cannot be guaranteed. Ships are already refusing to call at Bulgarian ports, and the country faces the risk of being unable to export 5 million tonnes of grain”, Ilia Prodanov, chairman of the National Grain Producer Association, told Bulgarian National Television (BNT).
He noted that global wheat production amounts to around 800 million tonnes, but only 200 million tonnes are actually traded on the world market. Russia accounts for 50 million tonnes of exports, Ukraine for 20 million, Romania for 10 million, Bulgaria for 5 million and Kazakhstan for 10 million. More than half of the world’s wheat trade comes from the Black Sea region.
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Insurance premiums have driven transport costs up five- to sixfold. “But since yesterday, the issue has no longer been just the price. We are now talking about ships being unable to reach us at all. Bulgaria must guarantee the safety of its territorial waters so that its ports remain attractive to shipping, as they were until just a few days ago”, the expert said.
Edited by Ivo Ivanov
Translated by Kostadin Atanasov