At the end of September, the sunflowers in the fields around Kiev are already fully ripe. But because of the war, the harvest will be difficult to harvest, farmer Oleksandr Krivosheya told ARD. "Every day we are attacked with drones, planes fly over, and the air defense is based here."
When harvesting, farmers in Ukraine risk being attacked or encountering unexploded explosives. Not only security is a concern, but also expensive fuel, a lack of personnel and, above all, low purchase prices. "It is a real miracle that we still exist," Krivosheya told the German public media. He has to fight for his economic survival.
Full warehouses and high logistics costs
Ukraine is the world's largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil. Just two years ago, the quantities amounted to almost six million liters, writes ARD. While for this year, experts predict almost a third less. The reason? Large cargo ships can no longer leave the Black Sea ports due to the security situation. The oil and grain must be exported from the country by truck, by rail or by river, of course in small quantities.
Logistics costs are high, and Ukrainian warehouses are full. That is why Oleksandr receives very low prices for his products in Ukraine itself. He gives the example of wheat: "Today's world price is $340, but here the price is so low that we have to sell below cost - for about $100."
As Oleksandr tells ARD, every second farmer in the area has already given up production, and there will probably be even more soon. He himself prefers to leave his grain in warehouses for now. But even that is risky - these warehouses are constantly subject to Russian attacks.
Employees work for minimum wage
The burned warehouses are also a problem for other companies - such as the chain of Italian restaurants "Pesto" in Kiev. Its co-founder Serhiy Alekseenko explains to the German public media that he cannot procure the necessary quantities of wine, meat products or milk. But this is not the only problem he faces. "Probably the biggest challenge right now is to keep our employees working. This is our most valuable asset. And to save our business."
Many of his 400 employees are now voluntarily working less and for less money. The problem is that the chain's establishments are mostly located in malls, and many customers are currently avoiding them - because Russia attacks them too often. That's why Serhiy has already had to close 20 of his restaurants. "Nobody was coming. Sometimes there were three visitors a day. The salaries of the staff were higher than the income. Not to mention the money for electricity and products."
Under the "Yellow" code; stores can stay open
The constant air alerts are also an obstacle to business. Because of this, the Ukrainian government updated the official alert code. Until now, all shops had to close during an air raid, but now they are only required to do so under a code "Red" - for example, when there is a missile attack or massive drone attacks. Under a code "Yellow", shops and restaurants can remain open - if, for example, there are only a few combat drones in the air.
This new system has made life easier for Serhiy. Most of his customers are no longer so worried about the constant worries. Like Dmitri, who brought his daughter to one of the "Pesto" restaurants for her birthday. "These places can really be attacked. But we have been under fire for four and a half years - we are used to it. After all, we have to live somehow."