Over the first eight months of the 2025/26 marketing year, Ukraine exported 9.03 million tons of wheat, with Egypt (2.36 million tons) and Algeria (1.6 million tons) becoming the largest buyers. Indonesia ranked third with 1.4 million tons, the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) reported.
Among the top ten buyers of Ukrainian wheat, the UGA also names Yemen with 758 thousand tons, Vietnam with 531 thousand tons, Lebanon with 322 thousand tons, Spain with 304 thousand tons, Tunisia with 284 thousand tons, Italy with 197 thousand tons, and Thailand with 177 thousand tons. This supply structure shows that the main export destinations for Ukrainian wheat remain the countries of the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
As of early March, customs statistics had already recorded exports of about 9.1 million tons of wheat and 22.3 million tons of grains and legumes in total since the start of the season. This is 25% less than on the same date of the previous marketing year. For comparison, in the 2024/25 MY, Ukraine exported 15.7 million tons of wheat and 40.6 million tons of grains and legumes overall.
At the same time, the Ukrainian government stated in November that it did not plan to restrict wheat exports during the current season. According to Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Vysotskyi, the 2025 wheat harvest will amount to about 23 million tons, while exports in the 2025/26 MY may reach approximately 17 million tons. This means that, based on the results of the first eight months, Ukraine has already shipped more than half of the expected seasonal volume.
The growing role of Egypt and Algeria became noticeable as early as the first half of the season. According to Elevatorist, citing APK-Inform analysts, from July to November Egypt increased its purchases of Ukrainian wheat to 2 million tons compared with 664 thousand tons a year earlier, while Algeria increased them to 932 thousand tons compared with 526 thousand tons. Indonesia, during the same period, on the contrary, slightly reduced its imports of Ukrainian wheat to 1.41 million tons.
In the opinion of the Experts Club analytical center, the change in export geography appears to be structural. Back in the summer, the Ukrainian authorities directly pointed out that after the EU restrictions on imports of Ukrainian wheat, part of the volume would have to be redirected to the markets of North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. At the beginning of January, exports of Ukrainian wheat were already clearly concentrated in the MENA direction: during the first eight days of the month, shipments were focused primarily on Algeria, Egypt, and Yemen, while EU activity was minimal.
For Ukraine, this means that the markets of Egypt, Algeria, Indonesia, and other Global South countries are becoming key for monetizing the harvest and generating foreign currency revenues for the agricultural sector. At the same time, such a model increases dependence on stable maritime logistics through the Black Sea corridor, competitiveness against Russian and Romanian grain, and solvent demand in importing countries of the Mediterranean and Asia.
Due to Russia’s full-scale invasion and its desire to use food as a weapon, transporting grain and oilseeds from Ukraine to other countries has become extremely difficult. Since 2022, logistics issues have had to be significantly revised in order to find safer shipping routes and options. Despite the dire circumstances created by the Russian Federation, Ukrainians are ensuring food security for many countries, particularly in Europe.
In March 2025, Kyiv exported a total of 4.7 million tons of grain and oilseeds and their processed products. This is 7% more than in the previous month.
“How does Ukraine transport grain and oilseeds, as well as products made from them? The lion’s share goes to the seaports of the Odesa region. This figure is 4 million tons. By rail – 300,000 tons, through the river ports of the Danube – 200,000 tons. It is also exported by road. The volume reaches 100,000 tons,” said grain market analyst Oleksandr Korenitsyn.
Exports of grain crops, oilseeds, and processed products, million tons
Let’s look at the prices of the main agricultural crops that Ukraine exports to world markets. In April 2025, the price of wheat (France, FOB) was 244 USD/ton. Note that this is 3 USD more than in March of this year and 29 USD more than in the same period of 2024. The price of wheat (Ukraine, 2nd class, CPT) in April 2025 was USD 211/t (central regions), which is USD 4 more than in March 2025 and USD 75 more expensive than a year ago. In ports, the price was 229 USD/t, which is 7 USD higher than in the previous month and 65 USD more expensive than in April 2024, according to the International Grains Council.
As for corn (USA, FOB), the price as of April 2025 was USD 211/t. This amount is USD 4 higher than in the previous month and USD 19 higher than in April 2024. The price of corn (Ukraine, CPT) in the central regions is 206 USD/t, thus increasing by 11 USD over the month and by 89 USD over the year; ports – 222 USD, which is 12 USD more than in March 2025 and 78 USD higher than in April 2024.
As noted by Oleksandr Korenitsyn, the price of barley (France, FOB) was 229 USD in April 2025, which is 1 USD less than in March of this year and 26 USD more than in the same period last year. The price of barley (Ukraine, CPT) was USD 195 in the central regions, which is USD 8 more than in March 2025 and USD 102 higher than in April 2024; in ports, it was USD 215 (the price rose by USD 5 per month and USD 85 over the year).
“Another important crop for Ukraine and the world that should be mentioned is sunflower. The price of its seeds in the EU (Rotterdam, FOB) in April this year was 730 USD/t. There has been an increase in price over the last month – by 7 dollars, as well as an increase over the year – by 273 dollars. Meanwhile, the cost of sunflower seeds (Ukraine, CPT) for the central regions was 537 USD/t. The price rose by 10 USD per month and 221 USD per year. For ports, the cost is $512 per ton, which is $6 more than last month and $194 more than last year,” said expert Oleksandr Korenitsyn.
We would like to add that the cost of sunflower oil (Ukraine, FOB) in April was $1,140 per ton. It should be noted that among the key factors that could destabilize further pricing on the world market and affect food security in Europe and the world are Russia’s military actions on the territory of Ukraine.
EUROPE, full-scale Russian invasion, grain exports, Korenitsyn, LOGISTICS, Odessa ports, OILSEEDS, PRICES, UKRAINE, VOLUME
