POSCO DAEWOO Corporation (South Korea) has announced that it signed an agreement with the Orexim Group from Ukraine on the acquisition of 75% of shares in the grain export terminal being built at the Mykolaiv maritime merchandise port, the company has reported on its website. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
It is expected that after the completion of construction in July 2019 the annual grain loading of the terminal will be 2.5 million tonnes, handling mostly corn, wheat and soybeans.
After acquiring the terminal, POSCO DAEWOO announced that it would be able to oversee the entire supply chain of grain produced in Ukraine and manage a more efficient inventory.
“With the latest deal, POSCO DAEWOO said it would be able to gradually oversee logistics through the purchase, inspection, storage and shipment of Ukrainian grain production, as well as reduce risk and ensure effective inventory management in accordance with individual demand,” the Korean company said.
The company plans to cover the infrastructure for the processing of agricultural products and logistics, in order to become the largest food resource production company in South Korea.
POSCO DAEWOO also said that the deal said the deal would also help contribute to Korea’s food security, since grain supplies to the country largely depend on exports, because the country’s self-sufficiency in corn and wheat is only 1%.
In March 2018, the Orexim Group launched the sixth stage of the Every terminal at Mykolaiv power, boosting the total loading to 1.6 million tonnes. Its core business is exports of agricultural products, port and logistic services.
Ukraine in 2018 exported grain for $7.2 billion, hitting the record, the press service of the Institute of Agrarian Economics national research center has reported.
According to the Institute of Agrarian Economics, grain exports in kind fell by 0.4% in 2018 compared with 2018, to 41.7 million tonnes, and the record revenue is linked to growth of grain prices.
The volume of wheat and barley exports in 2018 fell compared with 2017 to 16.4 million tonnes and 3.6 million tonnes respectively.
At the same time, according to the institute, in 2018, corn exports exceeded the figure for 2017 by 10%, amounting to 21.4 million tonnes. Export of rye also increased fourfold, but its volumes still remain insignificant – about 100,000 tonnes.
According to the Institute of Agrarian Economics, the countries of Asia, Europe and Africa remain the largest buyers of Ukrainian grain. Egypt is the leader with a share of 9.2%, but in 2018 it reduced purchases of Ukrainian grain to $666 million (a fall of 20%).
Spain ranked second for the second year in a row (8.9%), which in 2018 increased the volume of grain purchases to $643 million (a rise of 35%). The top buyers of Ukrainian grain are the following: the Netherlands ($556 million), China ($552 million), Indonesia ($487 million), Saudi Arabia ($449 million), Italy ($336 million), Philippines ($316 million), Tunisia ($290 million), Morocco ($263 million), and Libya ($248 million). In total, these 11 countries formed two thirds of the value of all purchases of grain products, the Institute of Agrarian Economics reported.
Ukraine since the beginning of the 2018/2019 marketing year (MY, July-June) and as of January 16, 2019 had exported 25.727 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops, which is 16.2% more than on the same date of the previous MY. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, farmers exported 11.1 million tonnes of wheat, 3.26 million tonnes of barley, and 10.79 million tonnes of corn.
Some 132,000 tonnes of flour had been also exported on the specified date.
As reported with reference to the ministry, Ukraine exported 39.4 million tonnes of grain in the 2017/2018 MY.
UkrAgroConsult in the current year expects a recovery in barley production, an increase in wheat production and a slight decrease in corn production.
“In 2019, the focus will probably change. We expect recovery in barley production, growth in the wheat harvest and, most likely, some decline in corn production. But the overall supply of grain from Ukraine will remain in a growing trend, Ukraine will remain a strong player in the global agricultural market,” founder and CEO of UkrAgroConsult Serhiy Feofilov said.
According to him, four seasons in a row Ukraine has been collecting record grain yields. After a slight decrease in harvest in 2017, the gross grain harvest showed a record high again.
“Of course, if to exclude weather disasters, there is every chance to further increase production. Technologies do not stand still and help reduce the risks of farmers,” he said.
The director general said that the record high harvest revealed weak points in Ukrainian logistics, which in the conditions of the record harvest could not cope with the efficient transportation of grain to elevators and ports. The second “problem area” was insufficient storage capacity, especially in the midst of harvesting a record harvest of corn and sunflower.
Ukraine boosted exports of grain and leguminous crops 11.5% in the 2018/2019 agricultural year (July-June) so far (by January 2, 2019) to 23.098 million tonnes, as compared with the same period last year.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food, 10.47 million tonnes of wheat, 3.15 million tonnes of barley, and 9.11 million tonnes of corn were exported.
Flour exports stood at 122,008 tonnes.
It was reported, citing the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food, that Ukraine exported 39.4 million tonnes of grain in the 2017/2018 agricultural year. Grain exports in the 2018/2019 agricultural year are projected at 47.2 million tonnes.
Gross grain harvest in 2018 totals around 70.1 million compared with 62 million last year, the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine has reported. According to a press release of the ministry, the country threshed 35.5 million tonnes of corn, 24.5 million tonnes of wheat, 7.3 million tonnes of barley, 0.41 million tonnes of rye and 0.13 million tonnes of buckwheat.
In addition, some 13.7 million tonnes of sunflower, 4.4 million tonnes of soybeans, 2.6 million tonnes of rapeseeds were harvested and 13 million tonnes of sugar beets were dug. The largest grain harvest was recorded in Poltava region (6.4 million tonnes). Some 6.1 million tonnes was harvested in Vinnytsia region and 4.8 million tonnes in Cherkasy region.
The highest yield for grain and leguminous crops was in Cherkasy region (7.28 tonnes per ha), as well as in Khmelnytsky region (7.16 tonnes per ha) and Vinnytsia region (7.13 tonnes per ha).
The ministry predicts that grain exports in 2018/19 agricultural year (July-June) would be 47.2 million tonnes compared with 39.9 million tonnes in 2017/18 agri-year.
As of December 18 of this year, from the beginning of the 2018/2019 agri-year, Ukraine exported 21.02 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops, in particular, 10.02 million tonnes of wheat, 3.1 million tonnes of barley, 7.5 million tonnes of corn and 0.4 million tonnes of other cereals have been exported so far.
