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Getting grain out of Ukraine would be ‘big challenge’

Environment Secretary George Eustice has admitted it would be a “big challenge” to get grain out of Ukraine by rail.

Questioned about the logistical difficulties of such a move, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This is a big challenge. If it were easy, we would have found a way of doing it so far.”

But he said that moving it by ship through the Black Sea would be fraught with difficulty.

“You’ve got a very perilous situation for shipping in the Black Sea. It’s mined. Ukraine themselves, for defensive and security reasons, have secured that port and they’re not letting shipping in anyway.

“It therefore probably means that a rail route would be the most likely, the most successful, but, as you say, that’s not easy either.

“This is something we should apply our minds to, to try and find a way of getting this wheat out.”

Asked whether plans to help facilitate a so-called safe corridor from ports such as Odesa are still being considered, Mr Eustice said: “I think we keep all options open at the moment to try and find a solution. But it is very, very challenging.”