Ukraine exported 7.0 million tons of agricultural products in December 2022, down 2% from the previous month, the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) said on its Facebook page on Monday.
“3% of these exports were made through the “grain corridor”, the rest through alternative export routes. However, it is necessary to take into account that not all products had time to physically cross the border. A lot of products are now in line for export both by rail and road transport, which will negatively affect exports by alternative routes next month”, – Association specifies in its report.
UCAB noted that 4.9 million tons of crops were exported in December 2022, which is 4% more than in November. By crops, 3.09 million tons of corn (63% of total), 1.67 million tons of wheat (34%) and 147 thousand tons of barley (3%) were exported to foreign markets.
Ukraine also exported 868 thousand tons of oilseeds during this period – a third less than in November. Ukraine exported 295 tons of sunflower seeds (34%), 251 tons of soybeans (29%) and 217 tons of rapeseed (25%).
UCAB also noted that exports of vegetable oils in December fell by 9% against the previous month – down to 468 thousand tons, 94% of which was sunflower oil (440 thousand tons) and 6% soybean oil (29 thousand tons). In turn, exports of sunflower and soybean cake and meal increased by 58% to 506 thousand tons, including 90% of sunflower waste (455 thousand tons) and 10% of soybean oil (51 thousand tons).
“The greatest changes in the structure of exports in December 2022 are associated with a decrease in export shipments of oilseeds, which showed a drop of one-third from the previous volumes. This is primarily due to a decrease in export volumes of rapeseed. The rape grown in 2022 and intended for export is almost completely exported, there will be no significant shipments of this crop until next year’s harvest”, – UCAB stressed in the report.
However, the reduction in rapeseed exports will allow for increased shipments of other crops, particularly oilseed cake.
“In any case, Ukraine still has a significant amount of products destined for export, and there is a stable demand for Ukrainian agribusiness products in the world market. With current export volumes, it is gradually possible to take out stocks of grown products and partially generate foreign exchange earnings. The prices in Ukraine are still low, and logistics costs “eat up” the entire profit of the agrarians, which in turn jeopardizes the sowing season 2023″, the organization stated in its report.
As previously reported UCAB, Ukraine exported 7.2 million tons of agricultural products in November 2022, in October and September – 6.9 million tons, in August – 4.6 million tons, in July – 3.0 million tons and in June – 2.7 million tons. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine, in May agricultural exports amounted to 1.74 million tons, in April – 0.96 million tons and in March – 0.33 million tons.
Prior to the full-scale military invasion by the Russian Federation, Ukraine exported on average 5-6 million tons of agricultural products per month, mostly through its maritime infrastructure in the Black Sea.
