Ukraine sets new record of grain exports: 21.8 MMT in July-February
2014-02-25 17:04:07
Ukraine keeps meeting obligations under the export contracts. Ukrainian seaports function as normal, announced the Ministry of Infrastructure. All the stevedoring companies engaged in business activities in ports work in the ordinary course. There are no interruptions of cargo handling. Last week Ukrainian ports handled 3.745 MMT of cargoes. The daily average handling equaled 450 KMT that corresponds to many years average level for this time period.
During July-February of the current season grain shipments exceeded 21.8 MMT in comparison with 16.5 MMT during the same time in the 2012/13 season.
Market operators estimate that Ukraine exported 2 074 KMT of grain from ports during February 1-24 (53% more than during the same time last season), including 267 KMT of wheat, 1767 KMT of corn, 10 KMT of sorghum, 28 KMT of barley and 2.6 KMT of peas. Corn was mainly exported to EU, Egypt and Tunisia; wheat – to Egypt, Indonesia and Yemen; sorghum and peas – to EU.
927 KMT of grain including 72 KMT of wheat and 855 KMT of corn are expected to be shipped from ports in the near future.
Taking into account such a high rate of export shipments, we can say that record high export expectations (30 MMT in the current season) may be justified. Besides, next season Ukraine may expect another record high corn production and continue squeezing competitors from financially reliable markets. The detailed information is available in the new study Black Sea Region: Corn Fever.