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Russia reroutes grain exports through Baltic Sea as attacks hit Black Sea
Baltic ports have up to 7 million tonnes per year of capacity, while rail requests for the season reached 5 million tonnes by Aug. 18.
Russian grain exporters are increasingly using Baltic Sea facilities to move shipments as Ukrainian drone attacks disrupt grain storage, handling, and vessels in the Black Sea region, according to Reuters citing industry traders and observers.
World Grain reports that all three grain terminals in the Port of Novorossiysk, a key export gateway for Russian grain, suspended operations in the first weeks of August after a series of kamikaze drone attacks.
Reuters data cited by World Grain shows Russia exported 46.3 million tonnes of grain via Azov and Black Sea ports in the last exporting season (July 2025 to June 2026), or 90% of its seaborne grain exports, while Baltic ports shipped about 1 million tonnes.
World Grain also notes that rail shipment requests to Baltic ports reached 5 million tonnes by Aug. 18, and that Arkady Zlochevskiy, head of the Russian Grain Union, said exports via the Baltic states could reach 5 million to 6 million tonnes this season, or as much as 10 million tonnes if Estonian ports become available, though current Baltic capacity would not fully replace Black Sea throughput.