Ukraine Shifts Export Focus to Higher-Value Crops Amid Port Shutdowns

Ukraine's rail shipments of grain to the ports of Greater Odesa have virtually come to a standstill since August 1, according to analysts at Spike Brokers. In the first six days of the month, only 40.8 thousand tons of grain were exported by sea, an 84.3 percent decrease from the same period in July.

In contrast, between August 1 and 6, Ukraine exported a total of 312.9 thousand tonnes of agricultural produce, compared to 784.5 thousand tonnes during the same period last month. This represents a decline of 60.1 percent in physical terms, but revenue fell by only 38.4 percent, from $326.9 million to $201.5 million.

The reason for this discrepancy lies in a change in the structure of exports, with the share of bulk grain cargoes (wheat, maize) decreasing while the share of products with higher prices per tonne, such as oil, rapeseed and processed goods, has increased. For example, wheat exports were down to 93.2 thousand tons from 294.9 thousand tons a month earlier.

Other notable trends include seasonal rapeseed exports beginning, totaling 27.9 thousand tons for the week, while soya meal exports were higher than during the same period last year at 25.7 thousand tons compared to 18.6 thousand tons.