site.btaPort Varna to Honour Commitment for Storage of Ukrainian Grain

Port Varna will continue to implement the current policy of the Transport Ministry in connection with a commitment made to Ukraine for the storage of grain, said Deputy Transport Minister Vladimir Varbanov on Tuesday, quoted by his ministry.

The deputy minister responded to a Bulgarian National Radio interview with the new CEO of Varna Port, Ivaylo Gavrailov, who said that Port Varna has no sufficient capacity to store Ukrainian grain. There is no infrastructure to handle additional cargo and not enough storage facilities. Gavrailov disproved the previous port management which said that that the port is ready to take in grain from Ukraine.

If there is need, steps will be taken to negotiate with operators of private terminals in Port Varna. Warehouses in state-run and private terminals have a capacity of 150,000 tonnes for grain storage. An option to increase storage capacity by docking a large vessel is being considered.

Bulgaria will petition the European Commission for emergency support for the construction of additional grain storage facilities in Varna West Terminal.

This is an opportunity for the Bulgarian economy to grow in support of Ukraine, while implementing the commitments made to the European Union, said Varbanov.