The decision of the European Commission to increase import duties for maize from EUR 5.27 to EUR 10.40 per tonne is not a threat to export of Ukrainian maize, Prse of the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) Mykola Horbachev has said.
“Changing the duties for maize is exclusively the market mechanism for protecting the domestic market, and not an administrative one. So, when the price for maize on the exchange grows, the duty is leveled, and when it falls, the duty increases. This practice works automatically and is not something new for the market, after all, at least it have existed for the past 20 years, or even more,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
The president of the UGA said that in Ukraine the potential for the export of maize has actually been exhausted in the current agricultural year.
“Today, about 26 million tonnes out of the expected 29-30 million tonnes have been exported. Thus, Ukraine has already managed to supply most of maize to the EU,” Horbachev said.
This decision will also not have an impact on maize exports in the next season, as crop prices may increase with a new crop. The association said that share of the total Ukrainian maize exports to the EU is about 45%. To date, Ukraine has already supplied about 10.5 million tonnes of maize to the EU.
The European Commission from April 27, 2020 fixed the import duties in the cereals sector. The import duties for maize, sorghum and rye are now fixed at EUR 5.27 per tonne and the automatic calculation lead to a new figure of EUR 10.40 per tonne on May 6.
The production seed complex of the international agricultural company Corteva Agriscience, which is located in the village of Stasi (Poltava region), has carried out the first export of seeds directly to Agrodairy, one of the largest agricultural companies in Azerbaijan.
According to a company press release, exporting finished products directly to a foreign producer is the first experience and, in the future, a new direction for the seed complex in Ukraine, which since its founding in 2013 has been focused on meeting the local needs of Ukrainian producers and the internal needs of the company.
“Until that time, seeds were exported internally to Corteva Agriscience European production sites, mainly to Romania and Italy, for further processing, packaging and sales by local teams,” the company explained.
Corteva plans to expand exports from Ukraine to other countries. In the future, the company also plans to export seeds to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and after introducing Ukraine in the list of countries from which it is allowed to import seeds to the European Union, to supply seeds to Europe.
Corteva Agriscience is a global agricultural company that offers farmers comprehensive solutions to maximize yields. The company has more than 150 research facilities and more than 65 active substances in the portfolio.
Corteva Agriscience in 2019 completed the separation from DowDuPont. Corteva Agriscience has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since June 2019 under the symbol CTVA.
Ukraine in January-March 2020 exported agricultural products for $5.7 billion, which is 6% more than a year ago, the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) has reported.
According to a report on the association’s website, the crisis minimally affected the trade in agricultural products in the first quarter of 2020. According to the results of the first three months of the year, exports grew by categories: fats and oils by $235.1 million (a rise of 19%), finished products by $74.8 million (a rise of 9%), crop products by $49.3 million (a rise of 2%). In particular, exports of sunflower oil grew by $193.1 million (17%), corn by $148.6 million (8%) and barley by $58.7 million (132%). At the same time, there was a reduction in the supply of rapeseed from Ukraine by $69.1 million (97%), soybeans by $50.4 million (19%) and wheat by $25.2 million (4%).
The association said that the export of livestock products decreased 15% and in January-March 2020 it amounted to $265.9 million. The decrease was due to a fall in supplies of eggs from Ukraine by $13.1 million (36%) and poultry by $10 5 million (7%).
“This situation is caused by a partial ban on the export of these products as a result of an outbreak of avian influenza in Ukraine,” the UCAB said.
At the same time, according to the association, imports of agricultural products in January-March 2020 amounted to $1.7 billion, which is 18% more than the same period last year. The supply of cheese rose by $26.3 million (almost twice), potatoes by $19.8 million (12 times) and citrus by $16.4 million (a rise of 21%).
PJSC Interpipe Nyzhniodniprovsky Pipe Rolling Plant (Dnipro) has built and commissioned a new warehouse at the export site of the company’s wheel-rolling shop, investing $271,000 in the project.
According to the quarterly report of the company, at the beginning of 2020, Interpipe plant provided itself with an additional warehouse for finished products, and a collection point was established for packing additional volumes of wheels in pallets.
“The new storage was organized to reduce the cost of packaging for sending railway wheels for export,” it said.
In addition, the company began using wooden pallets instead of metal cassettes for products that are shipped to Europe by truck, transported by road.
The report also states that in March steel indices in the global markets declined due to a sharp drop in demand. At the same time, the cost of scrap metal HMS 80/20 CFR Turkey fell by $20.7/tonne, or 7.6% compared to the previous month, the cost of square billets FOB Black Sea by $18.1/tonne or 4.7%.
“Most of the traditional trade outlets for steel billets of CIS production were inactive due to blocking and restrictive measures introduced by the governments during the pandemic. The demand was seen mainly in China,” the report said.
The Ukrainian market has also suffered due to protective measures in the fight against coronavirus, in particular, the hryvnia has depreciated by 14.3% since the beginning of March, construction volumes were down. The output of railway wagons also decreased.
EXPORT, INTERPIPE, PLANT, RAILWAY PRODUCTS, SHIPMENT, WAREHOUSE
Ukraine since the beginning of the marketing year 2019/2020 (MY, July-June) and as of April 15, 2020 had exported 48.14 million tonnes of grain and legumes, which is 8.45 million tonnes more than on the same date past MY.
According to the information and analytical portal of the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine, to date, the country has exported 18.35 million tonnes of wheat, 24.6 million tonnes of corn, and 4.52 million tonnes of barley.
As of April 15 of this year, some 285,920 tonnes of flour had been also exported.
As reported, Ukraine in the 2018/2019 MY exported a record 50.4 million tonnes of grain, legumes and flour, which is 23% more than in the previous MY.
Structure of export of services from Ukraine in 2019 (graphically)
