Ukraine cuts grain exports by almost a quarter

Ukraine has exported 33.41 million tonnes of cereals since the beginning of the current marketing year (MY, July 2020 - June 2021) as of March 15.

This is 9.9 million tonnes, or almost a quarter, below the volumes reported in the same period last year, according to the Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine.

Read alsoUkraine plans to boost seed exports to EU – trade envoyIn particular, agrarians have exported 13.88 million tonnes of wheat (down by 3.2 million tonnes on year), 1,700 tonnes of rye (down by 3,300 tonnes), and 14.9 million tonnes of corn (down by 6.6 million tonnes).

Also, Ukraine exported 4.04 million tonnes of barley (down by 56,000 tonnes against last year).

The export of Ukrainian flour lags behind last year's figure by 63%.

To date, Ukrainian agricultural producers have exported 94,300 tonnes of flour, which is 169,000 tonnes below the volume exported over the same period last year.

Background

The economy ministry's outlook for this marketing year's grain exports stands at 45.42 million tonnes, which is 20.5% down from the previous MY (57.2 million tonnes).

The ministry, along with the grain market players, have approved the wheat export cap for the current marketing year (July 2020 - June 2021) at 17.5 million tonnes, rye – at 16,000 tons, and corn – at 24 million tonnes.