Corn prices in Ukraine continue to fall amid weak export demand

Corn purchase prices in Ukraine have fallen by UAH 800–1,000/t since the beginning of September to UAH 6,000–7,000/t EXW elevators and delivered to processing plants. Weak export demand amid high alternative logistics costs remains the main pressure factor.

Delivery costs via the Danube ports or by road and rail to Constanța have already reached $100–140/t. Under these conditions, exporters are prioritizing higher-value crops such as rapeseed, soybeans and sunflower seed, while corn and wheat exports are becoming less profitable.

In western regions, demand for prompt shipments of old-crop corn remains at UAH 6,500–7,500/t loaded into railcars for export to the EU. At the same time, prices for Ukrainian corn loaded into European-gauge railcars for October–December have fallen to €170–175/t, while January–March prices stand at €192–195/t.

Ukraine exported 189 thsd tons of corn on September 1–15, compared with 20 thsd tons in the same period last year. The largest buyers were Turkey at 45.7 thsd tons, Italy at 37.2 thsd tons, Germany at 19 thsd tons, Cyprus at 18 thsd tons and the Netherlands at 14.3 thsd tons.

Additional pressure is coming from rising global supply. Faster corn harvesting in the US and EU, along with increasing shipments from Brazil and Argentina, could limit growth in global prices and continue to restrain a recovery in domestic corn prices in Ukraine.

Tags: Ukraine, corn, export, prices