28 July 2026
Russian grain exports, worth $10-15 billion annually, are experiencing mounting problems due to Ukrainian drone attacks in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
Reuters reports, citing industry sources, that three deep-water grain terminals in the Black Sea—KSK, Novorossiysk Grain Terminal (NZT), and ZTKT (Taman)—have stopped accepting grain delivered by truck.
The Taman terminal, with a capacity of 5.5 million tons per year, has effectively stopped accepting grain only by truck. The other two terminals, with a combined capacity of approximately 15 million tons per year, received about a third of their grain by truck, with the bulk by rail. The Novorossiysk terminal, however, only accepts grain by rail from the Southern Federal District, according to one of the Reuters sources.
The grain ports of the Sea of Azov, from where wheat was exported to Turkey and the Middle East, came to a standstill about two weeks ago after Russian authorities imposed restrictions on ship transit through the Kerch Strait. The Azov port of Kavkaz, used for transshipment from small vessels to larger ones for further passage through deep waters, was closed almost immediately after the restrictions were imposed in the Sea of Azov, sources told Reuters.
Since July 22, Russian authorities have banned nighttime shipping in Novorossiysk due to the risk of ship attacks. The number of grain carriers risking entry into Russia’s Black Sea ports has sharply declined. “The risks have increased, and the number of bold and reckless vessels is decreasing,” one Reuters source told Reuters.
The paralysis of grain trade in the Azov and Black Seas has reduced Russian wheat exports in July to their lowest since 2017—1.5 million tonnes, according to SovEcon estimates
. This is a third lower than the same month a year earlier and half the average for July over the past five years. According to Reuters sources, Russian authorities are discussing the possibility of rerouting grain to Baltic ports, which currently accept it without restrictions. Discussions are also underway on the Caspian Sea, which is traditionally used for barley and corn shipments to Iran. However, since mid-July, according to the agency’s sources, there has been no surge in shipments there compared to June.
Good. But even more important would be to force the closure to all exports and imports of oil products.