On the night of July 19, a Russian missile attack targeted Kernel’s facility at the Chornomorsk Port. This resulted in significant damage to the storage and grain handling capabilities. Fortunately, there was no casualties. Currently, the company is assessing the extent of the material damage. Preliminary data suggests that it will take at least 12 months to restore the facilities.

In addition to the infrastructural damage, during the attack on the night of July 19, a fire partially destroyed and damaged 60,000 tons of grain at the Chornomorsk port. This cargo was intended to be loaded onto the large-tonnage vessel Alexis and shipped to China. However, this vessel, which had been waiting in the queue of the “grain corridor” for over 60 days, was unable to be loaded in Chornomorsk. Once again, the world has been deprived of Ukrainian agricultural products due to sabotaging of the “grain initiative” and the delays caused by Russian representatives.

Further attacks on Ukrainian ports, increased risk to industrial complexes, and the inability to export grains by sea routes will lead to a 30-40% increase in prices for corn and wheat in the short term. There is also a risk of suspending operations at several Ukrainian oilseed processing plants and reducing the processing pace of sunflower seeds and rapeseed by over 30%, which will significantly impact global prices for sunflower oil, resulting in an additional 20-25% increase.