New routes: how is Ukraine getting its grain out?

Russia's naval blockade of the Black Sea has resulted in logistical chaos in Ukraine, the world's fourth largest grain producer. The consequence is that many African countries now face the very real prospect of famine while many Ukrainian farmers have no idea what they are going to do with this year's harvest, given that their silos are still full from last year's crop. 

As Ukraine and the EU frantically try to find, what diplomats call 'alternative routes', I went to see for myself what's being done to speed up Ukraine's grain and wheat exports.  

Reni in Ukraine is one of the only places of its kind still operating in the country and remains a key hub when it comes to exporting Ukrainian corn, wheat and other crops. 

Driving into the port town, I passed scores of piled-up sandbags and checkpoints. There are big fears here that it could become a target for Russian missiles. 

For now, the town's main problem remains logistics. The outdated method used to transfer grain to barges, from the trains and trucks that arrive, means the port's authorities are unable to cope with the volume of produce arriving.  

The result is that some 2000 Ukrainian truck drivers are stuck just outside Reni. I met two of them, Vitalii and his son Bohdan.

"Russia is the aggressor, they are to blame,” Bohdan told me, while Vitalii said: "The unloading should be better organised. We can handle waiting for three days, but two weeks!? It is so hot! There is a lack of water and toilets."

Roman too, another truck driver transporting sun sunflower seeds from the heavily shelled Mykolaiv region, also criticised the slow pace of things: "The problem is due to the delays caused by the barges," he told me. 

On my arrival in Galati, in Romania, I found workers