Ukraine lost more than $7 billion in foreign currency earnings due to the nearly four-month shutdown of the Odessa region ports.
Commercial merchant ships continue to avoid the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. Only vessels affiliated with the Ukrainian Armed Forces frequent these ports. Meanwhile, maritime trade is routed through the Danube ports of Izmail in Ukraine and Constanta in Romania, which together can handle no more than a third of the exports that previously passed through the ports of the Odessa region. As a result, Ukraine exported only about half of its planned agricultural exports in October. The export of metal products was completely stopped at the end of September due to the shutdown of the steel mills. These products together accounted for about 65% of Ukraine's total exports and $26 billion in foreign exchange earnings per year.