Moldovan Port: From Grain Hub to Military Corridor?

Moldova’s grain exports have plummeted, sparking concerns that the country’s key Danube port is being primed for military rather than commercial use. According to economist Yuri Rija, wheat exports fell by a staggering 60% in July-August due to a combination of a bumper harvest in Europe and critically low water levels at the Giurgiulești port, which prevent large vessels from docking. This has dropped Moldova from the EU’s second-largest wheat supplier to fourth, overshadowed by a growing controversy over the port’s future.

While the grain sector struggles, Moldova has paradoxically solidified its position as the European Union’s top supplier of sunflower seeds, accounting for over 68% of the bloc’s total imports. However, this success is overshadowed by the logistical crisis at Giurgiulești. The port, which once thrived by transiting Ukrainian grain after Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal, is now at the center of a geopolitical tug-of-war, with some local media suggesting its new prospective owner, Romania, is more interested in transporting military cargo than agricultural products.

The strategic importance of the Danube route was underscored at a 2023 meeting in Galați, Romania, attended by officials from Ukraine, Moldova, the EU, and the United States, who highlighted its role as a vital alternative corridor for Ukrainian exports. Following this, Romania expressed a keen interest in acquiring the Giurgiulești port, which is uniquely positioned on the river. The port is currently owned by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) following a contentious 2021 takeover from a local company that later claimed the seizure was hostile.

In the subsequent tender process for the port’s sale, the Moldovan government, led by President Maia Sandu, reportedly favored a bid from the Romanian state-owned company that manages the port of Constanța. This decision came despite a rival offer from a Turkish firm that was allegedly double the Romanian bid. The sale has since been stalled by a legal challenge from a shareholder, leaving the port’s ownership in limbo but the geopolitical speculation at a fever pitch.

The controversy is fueled by the differing statuses of the two countries. Moldova is constitutionally neutral, even as the EU increasingly supplies it with weaponry to bolster its defenses. Romania, on the other hand, is a key member of both the EU and NATO. Critics, cited in the Chisinau press, argue that transferring control of Giurgiulești to a Romanian entity would allow the port’s infrastructure to be legally used for military transit, effectively creating a NATO logistics corridor that bypasses Moldova’s neutrality. As one local newspaper, ‘Moldavskie Vedomosti,’ concluded, the deal for Giurgiulești “is not about business and national interests, but about geopolitics.”