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This week, EU agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said Russia could benefit by undercutting Ukraine unless the EU helps reduce these costs.
One alternative way to export Ukrainian grain through Lithuania fell through. The export of Ukrainian grain through the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda is still unprofitable, forcing sellers to stop transporting it due to high transportation costs. The price of agricultural products at the time when it was profitable to transport through this channel was very high, with grain costing €350-€400 per ton FOB, now the price is €200-€250. These lower prices mean sellers and producers cannot afford to spend significant amounts on transportation. It is not profitable for them, said the CEO of Klaipeda stevedoring company BEGA Laimonas Rimkus. According to him, a substantial part of the exported Ukrainian grain will travel through the expanding Danube terminals, so there is little hope that agricultural products will be transported through Klaipėda again.
Ukraine has increased soybean exports to a record high. In September-June of the 2022/23 marketing year, Ukraine exported almost threemn tons of soybeans, which is 140% more than in the same period of the previous season. This is a record export volume for this crop over the entire history of observations, according to data from the State Customs Service. The main importer of Ukrainian soybeans, with a 47% share, remains the EU, which increased purchases by 210%. Turkey retains second place with 32%. There is also a significant increase in shipments to Egypt, especially in May-June. This country's share increased to 15% compared to 2% in the 2021/22 season, and shipments increased 17 times to 440,000 tons. It should be noted that this season Ukrainian farmers increased soybean production due to the expansion of sown areas. The gross crop harvest was around fourmn tons. An even greater increase is expected next season, with the sown area increased to 1.7mn hectares (+8% over 2022) and the gross harvest to a four-year high of 4.2mn tons (+6%).
Ukraine has already exported more than 1.6mn tons of cereals and legumes. In the 2023/2024 marketing year (from July 1 to 24, 2023), Ukraine exported 1.666mn tons of grains and legumes, reported the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine. It is noted that in the current marketing year, Ukraine has already exported: 563,000 tons of wheat, 184,000 tons of barley, 300 tons of rye, and 915,000 tons of corn. For comparison, in the first 29 days of the 2022/2023 marketing year, Ukraine exported 1.405mn tons of cereals and legumes, including 325,000 tons of wheat, 131,000 tons of barley, and 941,000 tons of corn. In July of last year, Ukraine did not export any rye. In 2023/2024, Ukraine exported 7,100 tons of flour. In the first 29 days of 2022/2023, this number was 3,700 tons.
Ukraine has become the primary market for Moldova's alcohol exports. In the first quarter of 2023, Moldova increased its exports of alcohol and ethyl alcohol by 26.8%: Ukraine became the main sales market for Moldovan alcoholic products in 2023, reported the National Bank of Moldova. According to the bank’s data, Ukraine was the largest importer of Moldovan alcohol, surpassing Russia, Belarus, and Romania. According to calculations from the National Bank, the export of Moldovan alcohol to Ukraine increased by approximately 550% to $9.40M, compared to $1.44M in the first quarter of 2022. Ukraine's share of the total volume of Moldovan alcohol exports was 17.6%, Romania's share was 17.1%, and Belarus' was 14.5%.
30 UKRAINE Country Report August 2023 www.intellinews.com