Ukraine to export 60M tonnes of grain – economy ministry

Ukraine intends to export more than 60 million tonnes of grain in the 2021/2022 marketing year, the Ukrainian Economy Ministry's press service has reported.

"Ukraine continues to increase grain exports to foreign markets. In particular, in the 21/22 marketing year, Ukraine intends to export more than 60 million tonnes of grain. A serious challenge in this regard is to ensure the capacity of seaports," the statement said.

Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economy and Ukraine's Trade Representative, said that the issue of capacity of Ukrainian seaports caused a heated debate a decade ago, however, their capacity has increased over the past five years – from 49.3 million tonnes in 2016 to 81.5 million tonnes in 2021. "The maritime transport sector is operating without delay, while we are seeing volatility in rail transport prices. In this context, the Ukrainian government's strategy is to develop infrastructure to attract investors in this industry," Kachka said.

He added that growing global demand amid eased quarantine restrictions has raised freight rates to multi-year highs and increased industry revenues. This creates opportunities for additional investment in the latest technologies, digitalization, automation and more. The introduction of new technologies will contribute to the stability of supply chains and logistics, increase transparency and availability of data, optimize operating and maintenance costs, and ensure compliance with decarbonization requirements.

Kachka also noted that in the context of effective use of new opportunities, Ukraine is implementing a number of measures under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. The issue concerns the introduction of the "single window" mechanism for international trade, the institution of the Authorized Economic Operator, the regime of joint transit.

According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, Ukraine harvested 73.4 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops on an area of 14.5 million hectares as of November 12, with an average yield of 50.8 centners per hectare.

As of November 15, Ukraine exported 21.76 million tonnes of grain crops, which is three million tonnes more than on the same date in the previous marketing year.