Croatian minister: they are considering increasing Ukrainian grain exports through Croatia

By: STA Date: 2023. 08. 23. 09:30

Croatia is considering increasing Ukrainian grain exports through the country, one of the “limiting factors” of which is the capacity of the Vukovar port in eastern Croatia, Maritime, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butkovic told reporters on Wednesday.

(Photo: Pixabay)

After Russia formally pulled out of an agreement in late July that allowed Ukraine to export grain through its Black Sea ports, Zagreb offered Kiev the use of Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic. The head of the ministry emphasized that, given that the available part of the capacity of the Croatian ports is already fixed in the contract, they are investigating the possibility of increasing grain exports from Ukraine. “In any case, it is in our interest to increase this capacity. We can do it, we will do everything to make it so, but today I cannot say how much it would be,” he said.

Meanwhile, the minister mentioned two “limiting factors”

One is the free capacity of the port of Vukovar, and the other is the ongoing work on the Mediterranean railway corridor passing through Croatia. Butkovic indicated that he will meet with the Vice President of the Ukrainian Government and the Minister of Infrastructure on Monday to discuss the details.

MTI