Ukraine wheat offers reemerge at lower levels after corridor extension

Offers of 11.5% Ukraine wheat returned to the market Friday at sharply lower levels, after Thursday’s announcement that the UN-brokered grain corridor agreement would be extended for another 120 days.

The lowest offer for second half December was seen at $290/mt FOB Pivdennyi, Odesa or Chornomorsk (POC) for a 25,000 mt parcel, with a buyer seen at $280/mt, while November 20-30 loading was heard offered at $285/mt for the same volume.

Feed wheat offers on a cost, insurance and freight basis into Spain and Italy also indicated prices around $10/mt lower than those last assessed.

 “It looks like it [is all lower], but still more sellers are on hold waiting for the corridor to physically restart,” one trade source commented.

Ukrainian wheat offers have been few and far between in recent days, as market participants awaited clarity on whether the grain corridor would continue beyond its initial November 19 deadline and if so under what terms.

On Thursday the Ukrainian ministry of infrastructure said the grain corridor had been extended for another 120 days bringing some certainty back to the market at least for the near term.

However, hopes of a longer extension of at least a year, and of the inclusion of the port of Mykolaiv, which handled a large chunk of Ukraine’s exports prior to the Russian invasion last February, did not materialize.

The UN also confirmed the extension in an official note.

Meanwhile, the corridor remains subject to delays, as there is still a congestion of vessels waiting for inbound and outbound inspections in Istanbul, and the current pace of inspections is failing even to make the planned 10 vessels per day.