Meeting With Coordinating Minister Airlangga, Ukrainian Ambassador Confesses Millions Of Tons Of Wheat Can't Be Exported Due To War

Ukrainian Ambassador to Indonesia Vasyl Hamianin (right) when meeting Coordinating Minister Airlangga in Jakarta (Photo: Doc. Coordinating Ministry for the Economy)

JAKARTA - The Ukrainian Ambassador to Indonesia Vasyl Hamianin is said to have just met the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto in Jakarta.

In a release broadcast today, Ambassador Hamianin revealed that one of the problems his government faces is the difficulty in conducting international trade for important commodities such as wheat.

“The impact of the conflict is that it is difficult to export wheat outside Ukraine. Around 22 million tons of wheat can no longer be exported due to the obstruction of access in and out of the port," he said.

According to Hamianin, obstacles do not only occur in sea transportation routes, but also for land travel routes.

"Most of the grain commodities are shipped by sea, and it is rather difficult to ship them by land," he said.

For this reason, Hamianin hopes that the Indonesian government can help the Ukrainian government to present a comprehensive solution, considering that this year is Indonesia's presidency at the G20.

“We hope that the G20 can push forward efforts to end the conflict immediately. Ukraine believes that the G20 can take the necessary strategic steps to resolve the conflict, taking into account the political and economic power possessed by the G20 countries," he stressed.

To note, from the trade aspect, the two countries recorded a significant trend in bilateral cooperation. In 2021, there was an increase in trade of 22.83 percent or equivalent to 1.46 billion US dollars compared to the previous year which was 1.26 billion US dollars.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's leading commodities exported to Ukraine are coconut oil, copra, and margarine. Ukraine itself is ranked 39th as a country of export destination for Indonesia and ranked 26th as a country of origin of imports.

Indonesia's largest imported commodity from Ukraine is wheat, which was recorded at 919.4 million US dollars and is currently affected by the conflict.