The Delo Group, which owns the KSK grain terminal in Novorossiysk, announced the suspension of its operations. The company said the terminal is stopping the unloading of trucks and rail cars, the loading of grain onto sea vessels, and all other operations. The statement stressed the decision was made "to ensure the safety of workers and infrastructure"; no damage was reported.
The move follows a Ukrainian attack on the port of Novorossiysk on the night of August 12, after which two other major grain terminals had already suspended work: the Novorossiysk Grain Products Plant (part of the OZK group) and the Novorossiysk Grain Terminal (owned by Demetra-Holding). According to The Bell, the latter suffered serious damage, while the former saw its loading gallery collapse.
The combined capacity of all three terminals is 26.1 million tons (8.5, 7.1, and 10.5 million tons respectively). As The Bell notes, this typically accounts for well over half of Russia's wheat exports. According to The Moscow Times, about 40% of Russian wheat is shipped through the port of Novorossiysk.
Kyiv described the attack on Novorossiysk as a "unique" combined operation involving drones, missiles, and autonomous naval boats. Several Russian warships were damaged in the strike. Authorities in the Krasnodar region reported damage to 60 residential buildings in Novorossiysk. Across the region, including Gelendzhik, three people were killed, among them an eight-year-old child; the city was left without water supply.
Russian Railways has stopped accepting applications for grain shipments to all port terminals until August 22. Grain ports on the Sea of Azov, according to The Moscow Times, halted operations back in July after restrictions were imposed on passage through the Kerch Strait. In July, Russian grain exports fell to a decade low of 1.6 million tons, according to estimates by SovEkon. The analytical center ProZerno forecasts that August exports could come in 2.3 times below normal, at 2.5 million tons.
Following the news of the KSK terminal's suspension, wheat futures in Chicago rose another 1%, according to The Bell. In the event of a full blockade of the Black and Azov Seas, Russia would lose nearly 80% of its grain exports — 30–35 million tons per year, according to forecasts by the Union of Grain Exporters and Producers. Anatoly Kolchik, director of the Grain Union of Agricultural Producers of the Rostov region, said grain exports from the region have virtually stopped, and farmers are forced to sell their harvest at 40% below cost because they need working capital.