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Putin gives grain trains rail priority after Ukrainian attacks
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for grain export trains to receive priority on the rail network after Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted maritime transport hubs in the south. Agricultural shipments to northwestern Russia rose 465 percent in September, while total grain exports fell by nearly three-quarters to 1.7 million tonnes.
Ukrainian drone attacks have disrupted maritime transport hubs in southern Russia, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to call for grain export trains to be given priority on rail lines across the country.
Under Russian Railways’ current priority system, domestic shipments and transit cargo are placed ahead of export goods. Under Putin’s directive, grain trains can move ahead of other export cargo, including coal, on heavily congested routes leading to Baltic and Arctic ports.
Grain shipments placed in the third priority category
Grain shipments have been placed in the third priority category, which applies to cargo movements ordered directly by the president. The move is intended to allow grain trains to travel faster on routes with limited capacity.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Agriculture Ministry and other institutions had been instructed to develop alternative routes for delivering Russian grain to global markets amid commercial shipping disruptions in the Black Sea.
Shipments shifted to northwestern routes
Daily rail shipments of agricultural products to Russia’s northwestern regions rose 465 percent in September from the same month last year. Companies are also reconfiguring terminals at Baltic and Arctic ports that are used for fertilizer, coal and other cargo so they can handle grain exports.
Russia’s overall grain exports, however, recorded a sharp decline. Total exports in September fell by nearly three-quarters year on year to 1.7 million tonnes.
Shipments from Novorossiysk, Russia’s main Black Sea grain hub, also fell by approximately tenfold during the same period. The figures underscored the importance of southern ports to Russian grain exports and the need for alternative routes.
Baltic and Arctic port capacity questioned
Market analysts warn that Baltic and Arctic ports lack storage capacity and grain-handling infrastructure comparable to that of southern terminals. They assess that these ports may struggle to handle high-volume grain exports over an extended period.
Agricultural consultancy SovEcon cut its forecast for Russia’s grain exports in the 2026–2027 season from 49.4 million tonnes to 44.7 million tonnes. The consultancy expects normal commercial activity in the Black Sea to remain disrupted until at least 2027.
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