Ukraine grain exports reach 22.8 million mt, down 10% year-on-year

Ukraine has exported 22.8 million mt of grains since the start of the marketing year, a fall of close to 10% on the previous year’s figures, government data showed Wednesday.

Overall, exports are down 2.4 million mt versus the same period of the 2016/17 marketing year, with corn shouldering the burden and contributing over half of that decline.

So far, corn exports amount to 6.7 million mt, down 1.3 million mt year-on-year.

Wheat exports were 11.7 million mt, down from 12.3 million mt and representing a fall of just 600,000 mt.

Feed wheat exports have risen 300,000 mt to 5.3 million, offsetting a fall in milling wheat as high prices for feed wheats have tempted volumes into the market.

Milling wheat fell nearly 1 million mt to 6.4 million mt, according to the data, as the country - in common with other wheat exporters - has struggled to compete with a massive Russian wheat crop.

As of the beginning of 2018, Russia has exported 20.7 million mt, piling pressure on wheat exporters globally, with exports from countries like the US and the EU suffering. 

Exports of soybeans also increased marginally from 1.5 million mt, to 1.6 million mt.