Ukraine has exported 35.093 mln tonnes of grains and pulses since the beginning of 2024-2025 marketing year (MY, July-June) as of April 30, of which 2.269 mln tonnes were shipped since the beginning of the month, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported, citing the State Customs Service.
According to the report, as of April 29 last year, the total shipments amounted to 40.711 million tons.
At the same time, since the beginning of the current season, Ukraine has exported 13.873 mln tonnes of wheat (15.55 mln tonnes in 2023/24 MY), 2.264 mln tonnes of barley (2.181 mln tonnes), 10.8 thsd tonnes of rye (1.2 thsd tonnes) and 18.437 mln tonnes of corn (22.502 mln tonnes).
The total export of Ukrainian flour since the beginning of the season as of April 30 is estimated at 58.4 thsd tonnes (86 thsd tonnes in 2023/24 MY), including 54.2 thsd tonnes of wheat (81.3 thsd tonnes).
The farms of the Agrain group of companies have completed corn sowing on 70% of the planned area, which will be allocated over 14,000 hectares in the 2025 season, the agricultural holding’s press service reported on Facebook.
“This year, we paid special attention to the selection of hybrids that demonstrate not only high yield potential but also good adaptability to local climatic conditions and increased drought resistance. These are key criteria in conditions of unstable moisture,” the agricultural holding said.
To ensure the effectiveness of the sowing campaign, Agrain farms use high-precision Horsch Maestro 24.70SW and Kinze 3600 seeders with the Precision Planting system. This equipment provides farmers with 100% seed separation, uniform planting depth, and soil moisture retention.
“We sow corn to a depth of 5 cm at a rate of 65-74 thousand seeds per hectare. At the same time, we apply nitrogen fertilizers: 50 kg/ha of urea or 70 kg/ha of UAN,” the agricultural holding summarized.
Agrain is engaged in the cultivation and storage of grain and oilseeds, as well as livestock farming. Before the full-scale Russian invasion, the agricultural holding consisted of 11 agricultural enterprises. It cultivated about 110,000 hectares in the Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Odesa, and Cherkasy regions.
The holding company is owned by SAS Investcompagnie (France).
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, together with the international company Bayer and the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities, has launched a seed program that will provide free corn seeds for the spring sowing season to farmers in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions (excluding the temporarily occupied territories).
“This initiative is another step towards strengthening Ukraine’s food security in times of war, as it will allow farmers from the frontline and de-occupied territories to sow approximately 10 thousand hectares and harvest approximately 120 thousand tons of grain,” the Ministry of Agrarian Policy emphasized.
According to the ministry, to receive assistance, a farm must be registered in the State Agrarian Register (SAR) and cultivate from 5 hectares to 500 hectares in the specified areas.
Applications will be accepted from April 21 to April 30 or until the amount of assistance is exhausted. Each approved applicant will be able to receive up to 25 sowing units of corn seeds (1 sowing unit per 1 ha) depending on the area of land under cultivation. Seed distribution will begin in early May and will last approximately two weeks.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released the April World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, which provides updated forecasts for wheat and corn production, consumption, trade, and stocks for the 2024/25 marketing year.
Corn: world market
– Production: the forecast is increased by 0.9 million tons to 1 215.1 million tons. Increased production in the EU (+1.3 mln tonnes to 59.3 mln tonnes) due to higher harvests in Poland, Croatia, France and Germany, partially offset by lower production in Romania and Bulgaria.
– Trade: Exports are revised upward by 2.3 million tons to 188.7 million tons, mainly due to higher exports from the United States (+2.5 million tons to 64.8 million tons).
– Stocks: World ending stocks are lowered by 1.3 million tons to 287.7 million tons, reflecting a decrease in US stocks and an increase in stocks in South Korea and Pakistan.
One of the largest grain market operators in Ukraine, JV Nibulon LLC, has started the spring crops sowing campaign, for which it will allocate 36 thou hectares, which corresponds to the area under spring crops last year – 37 thou hectares, the press service of the agricultural holding reported on Facebook.
According to the report, corn will be Nibulon’s flagship crop in the 2025 season, just like last year. In addition, the area under soybeans will be doubled and the area under sunflower will be halved. This is due to the price expectations for this year’s grain crops and the forecast of a better economic result.
“We are using seeds sparingly, with seeding rates of 55-70 thou/ha for corn, 350-500 thou/ha for soybeans, and 45 thou/ha for sunflower (Mykolaiv region). In particular, 800 tons of soybean seeds of our own production have been laid and prepared for sowing,” the agroholding said.
Sunflower sowing, which is starting earlier than planned due to the rapid rise in temperatures and soil moisture deficit, has started in the Mykolaiv cluster. After April 12, the company plans to start sowing corn in Cherkasy, Vinnytsia and Khmelnytsky regions. Given favorable conditions, Nibulon’s farmers expect to complete the sowing campaign by mid-May, as they have the technical capability to sow 2-2.5 thousand hectares per productive day.
Oleg Veselov, Director of Agricultural Production at Nibulon Oleg Veselov noted that there is not enough moisture in the soil in the regions of the agricultural holding’s presence, but there is hope for April and May precipitation, so the company expects the gross harvest of spring crops to be 180 thousand tons of corn, 25 thousand tons of soybeans, and 70 thousand tons of sunflower.
Nibulon added that winter crops in Mykolaiv region are in good and satisfactory condition.
Nibulon JV LLC was established in 1991. Prior to the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and complexes for receiving crops, a one-time storage capacity of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
“Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries. In 2021, the grain trader exported the highest ever 5.64 mln tons of agricultural products and supplied record volumes to foreign markets in August – 0.7 mln tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 mln tons, and in the second half of the year – 3.71 mln tons.
Currently, the grain trader is operating at 32% of capacity, has set up a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines and had to move its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
Amid high corn prices, Ukrainian farmers have already exported about 1.8-1.9 million tons and are still maintaining good shipment rates, but the situation on the global market may soon change, according to the analytical cooperative Pusk, created within the framework of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council.
“Today, Ukrainian corn looks quite expensive on the global market. For example, we offer corn to the Spanish market at $257-260 per ton, while Argentine products are $10-15 cheaper at $245-248. As a result, the key consumers in the EU are not showing active demand. Moreover, in April, new batches of Argentine grain are expected to come in, which will put even more pressure on prices,” the analysts explained.
Experts pointed out that according to the satellite monitoring data, the soil moisture level in the so-called “small” states, which account for almost 45% of corn production, is decreasing in Brazil. If weather conditions continue to deteriorate, this could affect yields and trigger a new price increase.
“The climate in Brazil has a distinct seasonality: first, it rains heavily, then there is a long heat wave without precipitation. If the moisture reserves are not accumulated sufficiently, corn will not form the necessary vegetative mass. As of the end of March, there is a downward trend in soil moisture, and the risk zone is gradually expanding. If this continues, we may see a new round of price growth in May,” experts predict.
At the same time, they note that there is positive news coming from Turkey: the country has reduced the duty on corn imports and opened a quota. It is the demand from this direction that is currently supporting the prices of Ukrainian corn. However, according to experts, the quota may be enough for a week, provided active trade.
“The current price of corn on CPT-port basis is over $230 per ton, which is actually the price for Turkey. As soon as Turkey exhausts its quota, the market may drop to $215-220 in April, which is in line with seasonal patterns. Against this background, farmers should carefully weigh the decision to sell,” the analysts emphasized.
Thus, the situation on the corn market remains ambiguous: in the short term, prices may fall, but in the medium term, under the negative scenario in Brazil, growth in May-June is possible.
“Ukrainian producers should closely monitor the weather conditions in South America and be prepared for both scenarios,” Pusk called for.
