Ukrain put a record in exports of grain as never before - 60 % up only for the last 5 weeks. The Government said that is the perfect result of Ukrainian big harvest this year.

Ukrain export with 60 percent up in last 5 weeks, a multi-year record. A bumper harvest of early grains and a lack of funds for further planting and preparing for winter sowing have led farmers to accelerate sales, pushing Ukrainian grain exports to a multi-year high, traders said.

The conflict in Ukraine, one of the world's main grain exporters, has toughened borrowing conditions for farmers this year, traders and farmers said earlier, with banks unwilling to extend credit as the fighting weighs heavily on the country's economic prospects.

The country's grain exports rose 60 percent to 2.7 million tonnes in the period from July 1 to August 8 compared with the same period in 2013, data from its agriculture ministry shows. The volume, which comprises mostly barley and wheat, is comfortably the highest for at least five seasons, analysts say.

"A jump in exports can be explained by an early start of harvesting and by bigger sales from farmers who face extremely serious difficulties in obtaining financing from banks and have to sell the crop in a bid to get cash," a trader said.

Agriculture Minister Ihor Shvaika denied that farmers were suffering from a lack of money to carry out field work.

"There is a single explanation for the high pace of exports - it is our big harvest," Shvaika told.

According to the ministry, farmers have almost completed the early 2014 grain harvest, threshing 32.5 million tonnes of grain including 22.5 million tonnes of wheat. It did not provide data. The ministry has declined to disclose its 2014 grain harvest forecast, which analysts and traders expect at around last year's level of 60-61 million tonnes. The vast majority of Ukraine's arable land lies outside the battle zone in the country's east, and losses to the harvest directly linked to the conflict are expected to total less than 1 percent of output.

"We see a substantial offer of barley and feed wheat and expect that the current high pace of export will continue until mid-September," another trader said.

"The current sales will allow farmers to collect enough money and wait for a good price for high quality wheat and maize," he added.

Analysts said this week that Ukraine was set to produce more wheat for animal feed and less higher grade bread-making grain this year after rains hit grain quality.

Ukraine harvested around 63 million tonnes of grain in 2013 and exported about 32 million tonnes. The exports included 19.2 million tonnes of maize, 9.2 million tonnes of wheat and 2.5 million tonnes of barley.

This season, analysts say, Ukraine is likely to export 31.7 million tonnes of grain, mostly maize. But the ministry has said that hot weather and a lack of rain could affect this year's maize output.
 


Agri.EU