Ukraine Grain Exports Slowing

The Ukraine exported around 1.6mmt of grain in January according to the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation.

Although a similar quantity to that shipped in December export tonnage is starting to slip away.

Ukraine grain exports have slowed quite rapidly from 2.8 mln tonnes in September, to 2.2 mln tonne is October, to 1.8 mln tonnes in November, 1.5 mln tonnes in December, and 1.6 mln tonnes in January.

Ukraine has now exported around 14.6 mln tonnes of grain in the first seven months of the 2008/09 marketing year starting July.

The Agriculture ministry has set a target for total grain exports for the full marketing year of 25 mln tonnes. That still leaves 10.4 mln tonnes to go, with just five months of the marketing year remaining the country needs to step up the pace to around 2.1 mln tonnes/month to reach it's target.

There are various reasons for the slowdown according to the ministry, the December/January holiday, the switching to supplies further away to the north from the southern Black Sea ports, and the hope that prices will rise.