UKRAINE—Ukraine exported 2.17 million tons of grains, legumes, oilseeds, and by-products in June, which is 470,000 tons or 25% more than in the previous month, according to Ukraine’s ministry of agriculture.
Ukraine exported up to 6 million tonnes of grain a month before Russia launched an invasion on 24 February.
May export volumes also fell to about 1.7 million tonnes as Ukraine, which used to export most of its goods through seaports, has been forced to transport grain by train via its western border or via its small Danube river ports.
This is another enormous increase and corresponds to a quadrupling of the export quantities of agricultural goods overland since the beginning of the war, said soy promotion organization, Donau Soja.
Soybean shipments totaled 71,000 tons in June, compared with nearly 67,000 tons exported in May 2022, it reported.
“Thus, soybean exports from Ukraine in the first half of the year reached the level of the previous year. Around 500,000 tons were exported to Western Europe by land and via inland shipping, including on the Danube river,” noted Volodymyr Pugachov, a representative of Donau Soja’s offices in Kyiv.
That organization expects Ukrainian farmers to produce around 650,000 tons of sustainably certified non-GM soy in 2022.
And, according to UkrAgroConsult, sun seed, sun oil and meal exports from Ukraine last month also saw an increase, with the higher volumes a result of exporters overcoming logistical problems.
Grain markets took a knock yesterday, reported CRM Agri, with the oilseed and grain market specialists citing growing concerns of a recession in the US.
“The drop-off in crude prices, coupled with healthier weather conditions in the forecast across US’s corn belt also helped to weigh on corn markets.
“Weaker biofuel demand outlooks have kept corn prices depressed since the start of the week. Chicago corn Dec-22 are now back at levels not recorded since the start of February, pre-Ukraine invasion,” they said.
Rapeseed prices gained some ground yesterday on the back of a reduction in planting area in Canada, as well as weak confidence in the output from the Black Sea, noted the UK analysts.
Although showing an improvement over May exports the June exports are still 44% less than a year earlier.
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