Ukraine grain exports down 17.7% this season

Ukraine’s grain exports for the 2022/23 season were down 17.7% to 36.9 million tonnes as of March 27 reflecting a smaller harvest and logistical difficulties caused by Russia’s invasion, informed agriculture ministry data.

The ministry said Ukraine had exported 44.8 million tonnes of grain as of the same date last year.

The volume so far in the July-to-June season included about 12.6 million tonnes of wheat, 21.7 million tonnes of corn and 2.27 million tonnes of barley.

The ministry said grain exports in March had reached 4.63 million tonnes as of March 27.

After an almost six-month blockade caused by Russia’s invasion, three Ukrainian Black Sea ports were cleared at the end of July under a deal between Moscow and Kyiv brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.

A major grain grower and exporter, Ukraine’s grain output is likely to have dropped to about 53 million tonnes in clean weight in the 2022 calendar year from a record 86 million tonnes in 2021.

Officials have blamed the fall on hostilities in the country’s eastern, northern and southern regions.

The government has said Ukraine can harvest 44.3 million tones of grain, including 16.6 million tonnes of wheat, in 2023.