Along with other ports, Odessa has long been the primary import and export route for Ukraine.
Parts of Europe are seeing a surge of activity, due to the blockade in the Black Sea and a need to move goods into, or out of Ukraine by land. If your business has any involvement in central Europe, you will be aware of priorities.
20 million tonnes of grain need to leave Ukraine, animal feed, fertiliser, military, medical, or humanitarian items have to arrive. War has brought significant change to goods movement across the EU, to support a neighbouring country of 40 million people.
Related trade rules are being changed or suspended, common sense solutions put in place by nations, to facilitate necessity.
There have been disagreements, such as on buying energy from Russia but countries are largely pulling together. Although insignificant compared to Ukraine, the only other notable dispute in Europe continues to be Brexit and Northern Ireland.
Brexit Effects To Date
A number of bodies have reported on post Brexit trade, a recent study by the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE appears fairly balanced.
They confirm that imports from the EU to the UK are down more than exports to the EU. Sentiment could be playing a part, although increased trade costs and delays for EU exporters are at the core of the realignment.
UK companies have reorganised input sourcing away from the EU, whilst taking a slower approach to adjusting exports. This could change in the longer term, as contracts end, or customers elsewhere come into play.
Neither does the pattern apply across the board, with many smaller UK companies reducing, or abandoning exports to the EU. The range of goods we export has shrunk significantly, even though larger exporters are keeping the numbers up.
Looking To The Future
That the UK’s departure from the EU single market and customs union disrupted trade is hardly a shock, for our companies, or overseas partners. This does not however need to persist, when we can work together on solutions.
The UK has been working quite successfully with European partners on supplying Ukraine. The US has joined in, in a logistics sense and by setting aside tariffs on items such as Ukrainian steel, to assist their economy.
Other countries have speeded up phytosanitary approvals, or document processing. Practical issues are being overcome with a positive attitude, one which could be applied to the remnants of Brexit by both sides.
Our instinct in adversity is to pull together and solve problems. An ethos which fits well with long term trading relationships, we spend our days producing ATA carnets, a document based on international cooperation.
What happened in Ukraine has rekindled this, including the UK working alongside allies. At a time when we can’t be sure what the future holds, agreeing on other issues would be a timely contribution to managing that future together.