The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) plans to provide a senior secured loan of up to EUR 7 million to Baryshevska Grain Company LLC, the main operating company of the Grain Alliance Group, under the Resilience Framework. The Loan will be used to finance working capital needs of the Group amid the adverse impact of COVID-19 on its business.
According to a posting on the bank’s website, the project was approved in the context of the EBRD’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The loan will support the group’s liquidity and help it withstand the COVID-19-caused crisis. Therefore, it will help the company to preserve its capital expenditure plans, which were part of the original project between the Bank and Grain Alliance approved in 2019,” the EBRD said.
The original transition impact objectives are as follows: improvement in infrastructure for logistics, storage and transportation for export facilitation especially for small third-party farmers and installation of two biomass-fired grain dryers with total capacity of 24 MW utilizing sunflower residues, including husk, dust and broken kernels generated during the operational activity of the group.
The EBRD said that the status of the project is pending final review.
PJSC Agrarian Fund financed UAH 233 million under the forward program for agricultural producers, purchasing 72,000 tonnes of grain crops.
According to a report on the company’s website on Tuesday, the spring forward program of the company will last as long as applications from producers arrive.
“To date, PJSC Agrarian Fund funded agricultural producers for UAH 233 million by purchasing 72,000 tonnes of grain. Yes, this is not enough compared to previous years, but the forward program has not yet been completed, and contracts will be concluded while applications from agrarians arrive,” acting Head of the Agrarian Fund Bohdan Bunchuk said.
Under the terms of the 2020 forward program, financing is provided in mineral fertilizers and cash. Funds in the financing structure can be up to 50% of the contract amount. The collateral is the grain of the 2020 harvest.
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 Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture predicts that Ukrainian farmers will harvest 63-65 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops in 2020 against the previously projected 60 million tonnes. “Looking at the sown area, we expect the final gross grain production at the level of 63-65 million tonnes, which is 2.5 times more than the domestic market needs. We can formulate the final figure at the end of May, everything will depend on rains in this period. According to the forecast, they should be. Perhaps even the figure will be larger,” Deputy Economy Minister Taras Vysotsky said on the air of Ukraine 24 TV Channel.
Vysotsky noted that there are no threats to food security nationwide due to adverse climatic conditions, a critical situation has developed only in Odesa region.
“The losses there are large, sometimes up to 50% of the sowings. Now they’ll sum up the potential losses, they will transfer documentation, hold commissions and consider the possibility of financing from the reserve fund or other available instruments. We will study the situation in this region to support those farmers who have a large percentage of losses and there is a risk of becoming bankrupt,” the official said.
The grain harvest in 2020 may reach about 72 million tonnes (75.1 million tonnes in 2019), about 51 million tonnes from this volume can be exported, UkrAgroConsult analytical agency said.
“Despite draughts in March and April, in case of May rainfall, the wheat harvest’s level will be high enough, about 26 million tonnes (28.3 million tonnes in 2019). At the same time, its yield is forecast to be 5% lower than the trend value and 5% lower than last year,” UkrAgroConsult said on its website.
According to leading expert on the grain market Yelyzaveta Malyshko, with such harvest, Ukraine may well export 17 million tonnes of wheat.
According to preliminary forecasts, the corn harvest may reach 36 million tonnes in 2020 (35.9 million tonnes in 2019), and barley of 8 million tonnes (8.9 million tonnes).
EVT port grain terminal has completed sinking 4,000 piles for erecting 20 grain silos as part of phase three of the development of the terminal, the press service of EVT said on Friday.
“Sinking piles in the ground is the most difficult and time-consuming step in the construction of silos. The advantage of this method is the reliability and stability of the structure, as well as the ability to carry out excavation work in a short time,” the press service said.
As reported, the piles were sunk to a depth of 13 meters. For each silo, 200 piles were driven. Next, the concrete foundation of the future silos was poured.
According to EVT, nine such bases are currently ready. The installation of metal structures and the assembly of the domes of three silos are going on. The dome of the first silo is being prepared for raising.
It is planned that by the beginning of the 2020/2021 agricultural year, the construction of eight silos with a storage capacity of 8,800 cubic meters each will be fully completed.
