POSCO International to ship corn to Korea from Ukraine

Korea-bound vessel loaded with corn waits to depart from the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi, Sept. 5. Courtesy of POSCO International

By Kim Jae-heun

POSCO International will transport corn from Ukraine to Korea, which had been stopped due to the ongoing war there with Russia since February. A ship containing 61,000 tons of the grain left the port of Pivdennyi, Ukraine on Aug. 16 and will arrive at Incheon Port in late September, the company said Friday.

All the shipped corn will be used for animal feed, which will help stabilize domestic feed prices.

“The importance of food security is being emphasized due to the global supply chain crisis. We will continue to increase overseas grain imports so as to contribute to domestic food security and price stabilization as the government recently suggested, 'securing food sovereignty,' is a national task,” a POSCO International official said.

About 20 million tons of grain including corn and wheat are said to be siloed in Ukraine currently and major grain companies around the world are trying to secure supplies for import.

The resumption of trading corn is expected to help curb global inflation as the Ukrainian government is expected to export more than 3 million tons of grain per month going forward.

POSCO International is the only Korean firm that owns and operates a grain export terminal in Ukraine's second largest port, Mykolaiv. The grain terminal was built in September 2019 and about 2.5 million tons of grains have been sold to Korea, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East ― as of last February.

The operation of the grain terminal in the port was temporarily halted after the Russian invasion. However, transporting grain over land resumed in June and the Ukrainian government has been striving to normalize international trade.