Ukraine's weekly grain export stuck below 400k mt, YTD at 2.9m mt

Ukraine's weekly grain export pace decreased by 3% week-on-week and amounted to 345,000 mt declared, as prices at destination markets were not in line with internal CPT basis prices and sometimes fell below the cost of production, government data showed Friday.

Despite the demand for wheat and corn from Spain and Italy, price buying ideas on a delivered CFR basis continued to decline, while internal CPT originators have had to raise their bids to ensure the cargo flow.

Additionally, increased freight rates after the Russian attack on the infrastructure of the Danube ports has made export issues from Ukraine even more complicated.

The weekly volume of corn declared for export amounted to 129,000 mt, which was 8% behind the previous week's pace, while the total corn volume exported since July 1 amounted to slightly above 1.42 million mt, or 7% below compared with the previous year.

Italy was the leading destination for Ukrainian corn during the first decade of August, with 65,000 mt declared for export, followed by Egypt (49,000 mt).

Ukrainian exporters registered 202,000 mt of wheat to go abroad during the reported period, the total wheat exports since the start of the 2023/24 marketing year amounted to 1.18 million mt, or 100% higher compared with the same stage last year.

Romania and Spain were the leading destinations for Ukrainian wheat during the first decade of August, with 113,000 mt headed to Romania and 109,000 mt to Spain.

However, Romania is mainly a transit destination from which grain is re-exported.

Regarding barley, 13,000 mt were declared for export during the reported week, the total since the beginning of the new marketing year amounted to 364,000 mt.