Ukraine sees oilseeds exports shrink by 5% in H1

Exports of Ukrainian oilseeds in January-June 2019 (H1) shrank by 5% year-over-year (y-o-y), to US$619 million.

"In January-June 2019, Ukraine exported oilseeds worth US$619 million, which was 5% less than in the same period last year," the press service of the National Scientific Center "Institute of Agrarian Economy" said on August 8, referring to its deputy director Mykola Pugachov.

Read alsoUkraine-EU trade turnover in agricultural products grows by almost 25% in Jan-May 2019

Soybeans remained a key export-oriented produce whose shipments grew by almost 1.8 times in H1, to 1.5 million tonnes worth US$500 million. Over the period under review, agrarians also shipped 181,000 tonnes of rapeseed abroad (US$76 million) and 63,000 tonnes of sunflower seeds (US$25 million).

According to experts, Turkey became a major importer of Ukrainian oilseeds over the six months of 2019, with shipments worth US$199 million. In addition, Egypt's purchases of the produce accounted for 13.5% of Ukraine's total exports, those of Belarus for 11.7%, Germany for 7.9%, Greece for 4.2%, Poland for 4.2%, Lebanon for 4.1%, and Portugal for 3.7%. Their aggregate share exceeds 75% of revenue from Ukrainian oilseeds sales, the report said.

Over the period under review, Ukraine also exported fats and oils worth almost US$2.4 billion, which was 3% up y-o-y. Sunflower oil was a key export staple of the product group. Its shipments abroad stood at about US$2.2 billion, which was 2% up on the figure reported in H1 2018.

India was a major buyer of Ukrainian fats and oils with a 32.1% share in Ukraine's total export structure. It is followed by China (12.9%), the Netherlands (9.4%), Iraq (8.2%), Spain (6.3%), and Italy (5.6%).

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine in 2018 reduced exports of oilseeds by 7.5% from 2017, to 4.8 million tonnes worth US$1.9 billion.