Last month, lorries carried 514,000 metric tons of agricultural goods, up from 506,000 tons in August, Reuters reported, citing data by Kyiv-based produce brokerage company Spike Brokers.
Most road exports pass through border checkpoints with Poland, 35 percent vs. 25 percent for Romania, according to Spike Brokers.
Primary exports include rapeseed, sunflower oil and wheat.
The company anticipates that the shipments could increase further if Poland decides to open its market to Ukrainian food.
Tensions escalated between the two countries after Warsaw imposed a ban on Ukrainian food imports, citing the need to protect its own farmers.
However, Poland still allows the transit of Ukrainian goods through its territory to other countries.
Ukraine is trying to secure a deal with Poland in a dispute over an import ban its neighbour imposed ahead of a parliamentary election in mid-October.
Poland and other Eastern European countries are not usually big markets for Ukrainian grain shipments, but supplies to these countries have grown significantly since the wartime blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports deprived Kyiv of traditional markets in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, according to Reuters.
Ukraine and Russia are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other food that developing nations rely on.
In the past, Eastern European regions bordering Ukraine frequently purchased Ukrainian food, often at a lower cost due to their proximity.
The removal of import barriers by Eastern European countries could potentially result in a significant increase in road exports, reaching almost 1 million tons per month or 12 million tons per year, Reuters reported.
(mo/gs)
Source: Reuters
