Ukraine exported more than 20.5 million tonnes of wheat and 30.3 million tonnes of corn in the 2019/2020 agricultural year (July-June), President of the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) Mykola Horbachev has said. “The 2019-2020 grain season was successful. We produced a record number of grains and oilseeds. The grain and oilseeds harvest was a little over 98 million tonnes, which is an absolute record for Ukraine. A record amount of wheat was grown – more than 28 million tonnes. Wheat exports amounted to more than 20 million tonnes. Corn export exceeded all expectations. We exported more than 30 million tonnes. This year was successful,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.
The head of the UGA predicted that by 2026 Ukraine will produce 113 million tonnes of grain and oilseeds a year and export 70 million tonnes.
According to the UGA, export of grain and oilseeds in the 2020/21 season will be some 58.8 million tonnes.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in February revised upwards the forecast for export of corn from Ukraine in the 2019/2020 agricultural year (July-June) by 0.5 million tonnes compared with the January forecast, to 31 million tonnes, and the corn harvest – by 0.3 million tonnes, to 35.8 million tonnes.
According to the February report posted on the USDA website, the forecast for production and export of Ukrainian wheat remained at the January level – 29 million tonnes and 20.5 million tonnes respectively.
USDA in February did not change the forecast for production and export of Ukrainian barley leaving it at 9.5 million tonnes and 5 million tonnes respectively.
In general, grain forecast for the 2019/2020a agri-year was revised upwards by 0.39 million tonnes, to 75.43 million tonnes and exports – by 0.53 million tonnes, to 56.6 million tonnes.
Alfa Smart Agro has been audited and received an ISCC certificate for the supply of corn and rapeseeds to the EU as raw materials for biofuel, the company has said.
According to a press release, Alfa Smart Agro received the ISCC certificate in a FGP status (first gathering point) and as a trader in rapeseeds and corn.
“Certification for compliance with the ISCC requirements opens up for Alfa Smart Agro the opportunity to supply corn and rapeseeds as raw material for biofuel production to EU countries,” the company noted.
Alfa Smart Agro noted that during the audit, it is not the product itself that is certified, but the process and chain through which it is produced, stored and delivered to the EU markets. Land use is estimated, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and other indicators are taken into account.
Alfa Smart Agro is a manufacturer of plant protection agents and micronutrients.
Ukraine as of July 22 had fully used quotas for duty-free exports of agricultural products to the EU on nine groups of goods, including honey, sugar, cereals and flour, processed starch, processed tomatoes, grape and apple juice, wheat, corn, and butter. According to a press release from the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UAC), the pace of quota use and revival of trade with the EU is noticeably accelerating, as on the same date last year seven quotas for duty-free exports from Ukraine to the EU were used.
“Potentially, quotas for barley (79% are now used), poultry (75%), malt and wheat gluten (58%), and starch (53%) will be used by the end of the year,” the association noted.
The UAC said additional quotas for eight groups of goods come in force from October 2017 for a period of three years: for honey, flour and cereals, processed tomatoes, grape and apple juice, oats, corn, wheat, and barley. As of July 22, five of the additional quotas were used: for honey, cereals, juice, wheat, and corn.
AGRI PRODUCTS, APPLE JUICE, CEREALS, CORN, DUTY-FREE EXPORTS, EU, GRAPE, HONEY, SUGAR, WHEAT
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in April raised its forecast for corn exports from Ukraine for the 2018/2019 marketing year (MY, July-June) by 500,000 tonnes compared with the March forecast, to 29.5 million tonnes.
According to the report on the USDA’s website, the increase in the export forecast is associated with a large harvest. The forecast of corn harvest in Ukraine was increased by 305,000 tonnes, to 35.8 million tonnes.
In addition, the USDA retained the forecast of wheat exports from Ukraine in the 2018/2019 MY at the level of 16.5 million tonnes, raised the crop forecast by 57,000 tonnes, to 25.057 million tonnes. The forecast for barley production was also slightly increased (by 204,000 tonnes, to 7.6 million tonnes), while the export forecast did not change (4.2 million tonnes).
In general, the U.S. agency raised its grain yield forecast in Ukraine to 69.7 million tonnes, exports to 50.4 million tonnes.
The USDA has not changed its forecasts for oilseeds processing (15.85 million tonnes) and oil exports (5.93 million tonnes), while the forecast for oil meal exports rose to 5.26 million tonnes (100,000 tonnes more) after a decline in the previous month.
Corteva Agriscience, the agricultural division of DowDuPont (the United States), a large global seed producer, occupied 21% of the Ukrainian corn seed market and 16% of the sunflower seed market (the seeds of the two brands – Pioneer and Brevant).
“According to the calculations of the Kleffmann Group, which are based on a survey of farmers in 2018, our market share of the combined portfolio of Corteva Agriscience [the seeds of two brands: Pioneer and Brevant] for corn is 21%, and for sunflower is 16%. The crop protection agents market’s share is 7% However, based on these data, one should take into account the error in the calculations, which can reach almost 3 percentage points,” Head of business in Eastern Europe Corteva Agriscience Serhiy Kharin said.
According to him, in the plans for the next season is to get at least 1% growth in the seed market share for each of the crops.
Corteva Agriscience is an integrated company with the following segments: seeds, crop protection agents and digital technologies. It was created by combining DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection, and Dow AgroScience.
Corteva Agriscience includes Pioneer Nasinnia Ukraine LLC, a commercial office located in Kyiv (it provides sales of Pioneer brand seeds) and Stasi Nasinnia LLC, a seed production plant that has been operating since 2013. Over five years, investments in the production complex amounted to more than $56 million. The plant reached its full capacity in 2017: for the production of corn seeds – 500,000 seeds per year, for the production of sunflower seeds – 250,000 seeds per year.
Corteva Agriscience plans to become an independent company which shares will be quoted on an exchange after the previously announced separation process is completed by June 2019.
