Ukrainian government to halt wheat exports if agreed volumes are exceeded
By Pavel Polityuk
KYIV, Sept 18 (Reuters) -Ukraine will halt wheat exports if the volume of shipments exceeds the 16.2 million metric tons agreed with traders and producers for the whole 2024/25 season, the first deputy farm minister said on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, the agriculture ministry agreed with traders and agriculture associations to limit wheat exports in the 2024/25 July-June season to 16.2 million metric tons.
The government and traders annually sign a memorandum under which officials promise to maintain the existing terms of trade and to not restrict exports within the agreed volume, while traders undertake not to exceed this volume.
"The memorandum clearly states that if this level is reached, the government has the option of stopping exports," the ministry quoted Taras Vysotskiy, the first deputy farm minister, as saying.
Farm minister Vitaliy Koval said late on Tuesday that around 20% of the agreed volume had already left the country.
Ukraine exported 18.3 million tons of wheat in 2023/24, having large ending stocks from previous harvests left in silos with important Black Sea ports closed after Russia's invasion.
Ministry data showed Ukraine had exported 8.94 million tons of grain as of Sept. 18, including almost 5 million tons of wheat.
Ukrainian farmers have completed the 2024 wheat harvest, threshing 21.8 million tons - almost the same volume as in 2023 - but millers said this month the quality of the Ukrainian 2024 wheat crop was low and it prompted them to seek curbs on milling wheat exports to prevent a jump in bread prices.
Brokers, millers, traders and ministry officials expect the share of milling wheat to be between 30% and 45%, and millers urged the ministry to allow the export of no more than 4.8 million tons of milling wheat this season.
The ministry data showed that milling wheat dominated the exports in the first two month of the current season.
Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
