MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. The closure of ports in the so-called Greater Odessa area - Odessa, Yuzhny and Chernomorsk - which account for the bulk of its exports, could cost Ukraine $3 billion in agricultural losses this year, Minister for Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky said, according to Reuters.

"Direct losses for Ukraine's agricultural sector could reach between $1.5 billion and $3 billion this year," he said. "The situation is exceptionally complicated. In certain aspects, it is even more difficult than in March-April 2022."

Purchase prices for oilseeds and grains have declined by an average of 30% in Ukraine, the minister noted.

Since July 22, the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny have not received or shipped a single foreign cargo ship. International companies refuse to work with them for security reasons and reorient cargo transportation, for instance, to the Romanian port of Constanta.

Alternative routes through the Danube ports, Constanta, or by road and rail through EU countries cannot fully compensate for the loss of traffic from the ports of Greater Odessa, while significantly increasing transportation costs.

Logistics problems pushed Ukrainian grain purchase prices so low that many farmers are forced to sell their crops at a loss. According to the some organizations, many farmers not only did not make a profit this season, but accumulated debts.