BusinessSeptember 11, 2026 6:13 pm • 2 min readWorkers shovel piles of grain in a granary on August 25, 2026 in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. (BrightBird/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)Ukraine increased the volume of agricultural exports by road, rail, and the Danube River this month compared with August, but exports remain at only 40% of their full operational capacity as Russia continues to block the Black Sea, Ukraine’s Agriculture Ministry reported on Sept. 11.Since the start of September, Ukraine has exported 630,000 metric tons of agricultural products, more than half of which was grain — 380,000 tons. While this fairs better than in August when Ukraine only exported 33% of its capacity, the alternative export routes to the Black Sea can only handle half the volume of seaports."Our task is to simultaneously expand alternative routes, support agricultural producers with financing and temporary storage of the harvest, and work on restoring full-fledged exports through seaports," Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said.The blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports has sparked fears of a global food crisis as farmers struggle to send grain to customers in Asia and Africa. At the same time, there are concerns that Ukrainian farmers will lose money as grain prices fall and storage space runs out.Last month, Kyiv predicted that it could lose 10.8 billion euros ($12.6 billion) from blocked agricultural exports.To help farmers, the Agriculture Ministry has raised $12 million for free polymer storage sleeves for frontline farms to protect their grain from the elements. Other support includes expanding the state "5-7-9%" loan program, allowing farmers to borrow up to Hr 90 million ($2 million) each for operating costs at a fixed 10% interest rate.As farmers continue to work under immense pressure, the pace of lending to the agricultural sector is increasing and could total an additional Hr 15 billion ($337 million) per month, reaching Hr 60 billion ($1.3 billion) by the end of the year, the ministry said. Ukrainian farmers need to raise at least Hr 80 billion ($1.8 billion) for the full autumn sowing campaign, which starts around now.Ukraine previously asked the EU for 220 million euros ($255 million) to help cash-strapped farmers. While Brussels said it was considering the proposal, no decision has been made yet.In the long run, without enough support, farmers may plant fewer crops, hampering an industry that accounted for 60% of Ukraine’s exports in the first half of the year.