EconomyBlack Sea Grain Ports Hit on Both Sides as Exports PlungeAired August 14, 2026 at 2:19 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Overnight tit-for-tat strikes [music] on0:01grain handling ports have choked exports0:04from both Russia and Ukraine at once.0:06Russian forces hit Izmail in the0:08southern Odessa region. [music] Ukraine0:09hit Russia's Baltic port of Ust-Luga0:12days after Ukrainian strikes [music] on0:13Black Sea hubs, including Novorossiysk,0:16directly targeting the corridors both0:18countries used to move grain to world0:19markets. Ust-Luga and Izmail were hit0:22overnight on opposite ends of the export0:23network following the earlier strikes on0:26Novorossiysk [music]0:26this week that had already put Black Sea0:28grain traffic under pressure. Russian0:30grain exports are down [music] more than0:3120% year-to-date to July and headed for0:34a 10-year low this month. While0:36Ukrainian shipments [music] have fallen0:3776% year-over-year to just 201,0000:40metric tons. The 2026-27 forecast now0:43sits at 21.7 million tons, down from 250:47to 26 million tons in 2025-26, [music]0:50a drop linked to the port disruptions0:51and the broader export squeeze. The0:53supply squeeze lands on top of a fifth0:55[music] European heatwave near 40° with0:57Paris at 38° and prolonged drought now1:00estimated to cut 2026 GDP by 1%, about1:04180 billion euros. The prospect of1:06higher global food prices is now in1:08focus with import-dependent communities1:10facing the most immediate [music]1:12exposure if Black Sea volumes stay1:14curtailed while heat and drought weaken1:16European harvests. How badly Izmail,1:18Ust-Luga, and Novorossiysk are damaged,1:20[music]1:21how long restrictions last, whether1:23those export declines hold at forecast1:25lows, and how far drought plus a1:26shrunken Black Sea supply [music] push1:28prices remain unresolved. No independent1:30confirmation of the scale of damage has1:32been described so far.1:34Like and follow for more stories that1:36matter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗