Logistics Constraints Weigh on Ukraine's Corn Exports

Logistics for the export of Ukraine's new corn harvest are already in high demand. According to UkrAgroConsult, farmers, agricultural holdings, and traders have been actively contracting new-crop corn since the start of the year.

Siginificant volumes of the upcoming crop have already been contracted, increasing competition for available routes and transshipment capacity on European routes. While railway infrastructure repairs in Slovenia had previously been a bottleneck affecting shipments to Italy, logistics constraints are now also being reported on routes to Germany and the Netherlands.

Market participants are booking rail capacity and transshipment slots well in advance, limiting opportunities for spot corn sales. With logistics capacity limited, traders and producers are having to plan shipments and secure export capacity increasingly far in advance.