HAMBURG: German national railways Deutsche Bahn (DB) plans to start freight train services to carry Ukrainian grain exports to German ports for loading on ships, DB said.

Grains will be brought by rail to German ports including Rostock, Hamburg and Brake, DB said. Details of capacity were not given but several trains a week are planned, largely picking up Ukrainian grain in Romania.

The DB has been running trains from Germany loaded with aid cargoes for Ukraine and it is planned that freight trains will load grain on their return journeys.

Ukrainian agricultural exports were about 2.5 million tonnes in June against up to 6 million tonnes of grain per month before Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24. Moscow calls its action a “special military operation”.