As the effects of the Black Sea tension spread beyond Russian-Ukrainian ports, wheat prices at major ports in Romania and Bulgaria have been high for more than three years. On Wednesday, the offshore price of wheat in the region was around $282.50 per ton; it rose to $292.50 per ton last week, the highest since March 2023. Since Russia and Ukraine attacked each other's Black Sea ports, shipping infrastructure, and conflict escalated in early July, wheat prices have surged by about 20%. The ports of Constanta, Varna, and Burgas have become key supply routes to food-importing countries in Asia and the Middle East, and buyers are looking for alternative sources of supply. Vanya Bevska, founder of the Bulgarian commodity consulting agency Business Kitchen, said, “The core driving factor is that after Russian-Ukrainian ports were blocked, buyers scrambled to lock in wheat supplies from other Black Sea countries, driving prices up sharply.”

As the effects of the Black Sea tension spread beyond Russian-Ukrainian ports, wheat prices at major ports in Romania and Bulgaria have been high for more than three years. On Wednesday, the offshore price of wheat in the region was about $282.50 per ton; it rose to $292.50 per ton last week, the highest since March 2023. Since Russia and Ukraine attacked each other's Black Sea ports, shipping infrastructure, and conflict escalated in early July, wheat prices have surged by about 20%. The ports of Constanta, Varna, and Burgas have become key supply routes to food-importing countries in Asia and the Middle East, and buyers are looking for alternative sources of supply. Vanya Bevska, founder of the Bulgarian commodity consulting agency Business Kitchen, said, “The core driving factor is that after Russian-Ukrainian ports were blocked, buyers scrambled to lock in wheat supplies from other Black Sea countries, driving prices up sharply.”