MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. The situation in the Ukrainian agricultural sector has become critical, Sergey Rybalko, a member of the board of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, stated on the Ukrainian channel Espresso.

According to him, due to the cessation of maritime transportation, farmers have lost the ability to sell their harvest and receive the funds necessary for seasonal fieldwork. "Everything has stopped. And most importantly, the opportunity to sell products and receive payment for them has stopped," Rybalko emphasized. "The situation is critical, as the harvest is currently underway, along with soil preparation and sowing of winter rapeseed, which requires significant financial resources."

"Today, we have a very good wheat harvest, and unfortunately, it is precisely this crop that we are unable to sell the most. It is from this that farmers received working capital for their operations," he explained.

The expert forecasts a sharp reduction in agricultural exports. While previously Ukraine shipped more than 4 million tons monthly abroad, it can now potentially export only 2-2.5 million tons, and in the coming month, volumes may not exceed 500,000 tons.

In early August, Kiev appealed to the European Commission with a request to provide 220 million euros in non-repayable aid to support farmers amid the shutdown of the country's seaports. This support is intended to compensate interest on loans for small and medium-sized agricultural producers. Ukrainian authorities indicated that due to the prolonged port blockade, storage facilities could be completely full as early as October, and more than 9 million tons of grain and oilseeds risk being left without the necessary storage capacity.