Ukraine's grain exports through the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta in the first 11 months were down by 54 per cent from a year earlier to 6.0 million metric tons, the port authority said.
The drop reflects Kyiv's reliance on its own ports despite Russian attacks on shipping and infrastructure though Constanta remains Ukraine's main alternative export route for grains since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
Romania has helped export just under 29 millions of tons of Ukrainian grain through Constanta since February 2022.
Port data, which does not include volumes handled through smaller Romanian ports and direct exports by rail and road, showed that roughly 340,000 tons of Ukrainian grain left Constanta in November.
Ukraine has managed to boost grain exports through its own ports by creating a shipping corridor that hugs the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria after Russia withdrew from a UN-backed export initiative last year.
Romania is one of the EU's biggest grain exporters and Constanta also handles grain flows from landlocked neighbours including Serbia, Hungary and Moldova.
But the drop in Ukrainian grain flows means overall grain exports through the port were down by a little over a fifth from a year earlier at 25.4 million tons in the first 11 months.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie Editing by Tomasz Janowski)