Price of Ukrainian wheat on export market exceeds six-year high – experts

Experts with the APK-Inform agency say the price of Ukrainian wheat on the export market exceeded a six-year high in January 2021.

As of January 4, ask prices of wheat reached US$268 per tonne on FOB terms for deep-sea shipping, exceeding a six-year high (US$265 per tonne FOB) recorded in early January 2015, the agency's press service said on its website on January 4.

Read alsoGrain market stability secured despite massive challenges – Economy ministry

"[Ukrainian] prices are being backed by importers' high demand for wheat amid Ukrainian exports' reaching the limit stipulated in a memorandum, as well as price hikes for Russian wheat and problems with its exports under current contracts over a sudden delay for up to 10 days in inspections of goods during customs clearance of grain for dispatches by rail towards the Baltic and southern ports," it said.

Difficulties with the formation of batches of the required volumes as farmers are holding on sales, as well as a rise in prices of grain on global markets were also conductive to the growth of Ukrainian prices.

Grain exports: Background

• Ukraine's Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture and traders agreed in a memorandum that wheat exports should not exceed 17.5 million tonnes in MY 2020-2021 (MY, July 2020 - June 2021), while those of rye were capped at 16,000 tonnes.
• Ukraine in MY 2019-2020 exported a record high of 57.2 million tonnes of grain and legumes, as well as flour onto foreign markets.
• At a meeting on December 22, 2020, the Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade, and Agriculture and relevant associations decided not to impose curbs on grain exports.
• Ukrainian agrarians exported 25.93 million tonnes of grain in MY 2020-2021 as of December 30, 2020, which was 4.7 million tonnes, or 16%, down from December 30, 2019.