North American-owned grain terminals hit in Ukraine

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Two grain terminals owned by companies in North America were hit by a Russian attack in Ukraine.

The University of Illinois’ farm policy news website says Canadian agribusiness Viterra, and U.S. grain trader Bunge said they had a grain terminal hit on Wednesday.

Viterra reported that it had a terminal on fire. While there were no casualties, Viterra did say one employee was injured at the plant, which had been closed since Russia’s invasion began.

The attack on Wednesday is also the second time Bunge has been targeted. Ukraine’s grain exports have dropped significantly from last year. During the first 22 days of June, exports were down 48 percent from 2021 at 907,000 tons.

Russia is preventing shipments from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, trapping thousands of tons of grain in the country. Experts say setting up alternative export routes won’t be sufficient enough quantities to keep up with global food demand.