Exports of Ukrainian rapeseeds in the 2018/19 agricultural year would reach some 2.5 million tonnes, which is 19% more than a year ago, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has said.
According to an annual report for oilseeds and food of the USDA, in 2016/17 agri-year Ukraine exported around 1 million tonnes of rapeseeds, which is 28% less than a year ago. Over 92% of it was exported to the European Union (EU).
According to the report, from July 2017 through January 2018, the trend has changed, and exports reached 2 million tonnes, which is almost 21% more year-over-year. The EU remained the key consumer and bought almost 1.7 million tonnes (92% of total exports). The EU would remain the main buyer of the new season.
According to the report, EXW prices of rapeseeds in 2018/19 agri-year exceeded FOB prices in the ports of the Black Sea.
Ukraine in January-April this year exported electricity for $109.331 million, in particular in April for $28.86 million. According to the State Fiscal Service, in January-April electricity was supplied to Hungary for the amount of $69.146 million, Poland for $26.466 million, Moldova for $10.939 million and other countries for $2.779 million.
Thus, in monetary terms exports of Ukrainian electricity in January-April 2018 increased by 33.5% compared to the same period in 2017 ($81.899 million).
In addition, Ukraine in January-April 2018 imported electricity for $562,000 (from Russia for $539,000, from Belarus for $22,000 and Moldova for $1,000).
Ukraine since the beginning of the 2017/2018 marketing year (MY, July-June) has exported nearly 35 million tonnes of grains, which is 7.9% lower than in the same period of the 2016/2017 MY (38 million tonnes).
According to the department of biosecurity safety and seed raising control of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumers’ Rights Protection, the country exported, in particular, 15.4 million tonnes of wheat, almost 4 million tonnes of barley, and 15 million tonnes of corn.
The agency noted that the country in the same period of the previous MY exported 16 million tonnes of wheat, 5.1 million tonnes of barley, and 17 million tonnes of corn.
The service said that since the start of the 2017/2018 MY (September-August) the country has exported more than 4.6 million tonnes of oilseeds, in particular more than 2.1 million tonnes of rapeseeds, 2.5 million tones of soybeans. On the same date of the past MY, oilseeds exports amounted to almost 3.7 million tonnes, in particular rapeseeds exports exceeded one million tonnes, soybeans stood at 2.7 million tonnes.
Ukraine increased electricity exports 18.3% in January-March 2018 year-on-year to 1.596 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry has told Interfax-Ukraine. Electricity supplies from the Burshtyn thermal power plant energy island in the direction of Hungary, Slovakia and Romania for the three month grew 0.9% compared to January-March 2017, to 1.026 billion kWh.
Electricity supplies to Poland rose 27.6%, to 423.327 million kWh. Ukraine exported 146.218 million kWh to Moldova in January-March 2018 compared to nil a year earlier.
No electricity was exported to Belarus or Russia in January-March 2018 or January-March 2017.
In March 2018, exports of Ukrainian electricity totaled 563.7 million kWh, which is 49.6% more than in March 2017.
Ukraine imported 8.92 million kWh of electricity in January-March 2018 (of which 8.559 million kWh from Russia and 0.361 million kWh from Belarus) versus 11.6 million kWh in the same period last year. Energomarket contracts account for the imports as technological transfers.
EXPORTS, HUNGARY, IMPORTERS, MOLDOVA, POLAND, ROMANIA, SLOVAKIA
Grain harvest in Ukraine in the 2018/19 agricultural year (July-June) could grow by 3% compared with the previous year, to 61.85 million tonnes, according to projections of the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA). “In the 2017/18 agri-year exports of grain will be 40.6 million tonnes, and next agri-year we forecast growth of exports by 6%, to 43.3 million tonnes,” UGA President Mykolav Horbachev said.
In particular, wheat harvest in the 2018/19 agir-year could expand by 2.2%, to 27.1 million tonnes, that for corn – by 9%, to 27 million tonnes, and the barley harvest could narrow by 9.3%, to 7.8 million tonnes.
The association said that in the 2018/19 agri-year wheat exports could grow by 5.8%, to 18 million tonnes, corn – by 10.5%, to 21 million tonnes, and barley exports could fall by 6.5%, to 4.3 million tonnes.
As of April 24, 2018, Ukraine exported 15.4 million tonnes of wheat, 4.1 million tonnes of barley and 13.8 million tonnes of corn, according to the UGA.
The cost of exports of fruit and berries from Ukraine totaled $57 million in January-March 2018, which is 68% more than a year ago. According to the Ukrsadprom association, the key exported fruit were walnuts ($42 million), frozen berries ($10 million), apples and pears ($5 million). “Out of these groups of fruit and berries only for frozen berries the volume in kind and in cost declined. The volume of walnuts exported from Ukraine grew from 7,000 to 13,000 tonnes, and apples and pears from 6,000 to 14,000 tonnes,” the association said.
Ukrainian fruit and berries are of greatest demand in the EU countries (60% of revenue of Ukrainian exporters).
Ukrainian apples are mainly sold in the CIS and EU, in particular, Belarus, Moldova, Sweden (85% of the cost of their exports). Average export price of apples this year exceeded $320 per tonne.
“Major purchases of fruits and berries were carried out by France in the amount of $6.9 million, Turkey – $6.5 million, Poland – $4 million, Belarus – $3.7 million, Greece – $3.5 million, Germany – $2.8 million and the Netherlands – $2.7 million,” Ukrsadprom said.
At the same time, imports of fruit and berry products in Ukraine in January-March 2018 amounted to $143 million.
According to the report, it is mainly formed of exotic fruits (citrus fruits, bananas and other fruit). If one takes into account only traditional fruits and berries for Ukraine, the total foreign trade surplus was $40 million. At the same time, the association pointed out a surplus in the trade in pome fruits, which in recent years has been negative.
