Ukraine Grain Exports Rise, Wheat Falls

KIEV - Feb 13/03 - APK -- Grain export from Ukraine in December 2002 was 1.61 million metric tons (MT), which is by 57,000 MT or 3.7% more than in November.

Exports of wheat continued falling, having decreased since November by 127,000 MT to 1.02 million MT. However, exports of rye and maize increased significantly.

Thus, export of rye increased from 69,000 to 118,000 MT, hitting a record in December. Export of maize also reached a record high, having increased from 124,000 to 180,000 MT.

Total grain export from Ukraine over the first six months of the 2002-03 MY (July through December) reached 8.15 million MT versus 4.19 million MT, shipped over the same period of past MY. With account of exports of January, which is estimated at about 1 million MT, the total grain export since the beginning of the season till the start of February must have constituted about 9.2 million MT.

In the previous marketing season Ukraine exported 9 million MT of grain as a whole. According to estimates of APK-Inform analysts, the export in this MY will reach some 12.8 million MT.

In December 2002 exports of wheat from Ukraine constituted 1.02 million MT, which is by 127,000 MT or 11% less than in November the same year. Average export price increased from $81.9 in November to $85.1 in December, with the share of milling wheat in the total exports continuing to increase.

Spain remained to be the main buyer of Ukrainian wheat in December, with its share having even somewhat increased from November's (206,000 MT against 143,000 MT). The export to Belgium also increased (by 13,000 MT - up to 132,000 MT - December's second largest buyer). So did export to Netherlands - by 44,000 MT from November, up to 55,000 MT. At the same time, supplies to Portugal and Italy significantly decreased - by 43,000 and 45,000 MT - down to 62,000 and 18,000 MT correspondingly.

As a total, the%age of the EU countries in the total export increased from 43% in November to 47 in December, while the absolute figure of wheat supplies to EU countries decreased by 4,000 MT.

The increase of supplies to Hungary continued. This country was the third largest importer of Ukrainian wheat in that month.

No new export destinations were opened. However, South African Republic, which had bought Ukrainian wheat for the first time in November, in December increased its import. Another country, which also made the first purchase in November - Indonesia - on the contrary, decreased its import.

The total amount of Ukrainian export of wheat over the first 6 months of the 2002-03 MY (marketing year - July through June) constituted 5.6 million MT versus 2.8 million MT, exported over the same period of the last marketing year. Export in January, according to preliminary estimates of APK-Inform, constituted 490,000-500,000 MT. We expect that wheat export over the whole season will constitute about 8 million MT.

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