Ukraine to export remaining grain by end of May, which would push prices up - expert

MOSCOW. April 18 (Interfax) - Ukraine will be able to export all of its grain remaining from the 2023 harvest by the end of May, which would prompt grain prices to rise both on the domestic and the foreign market, Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) President Nikolai Gorbachev said at the Black Sea Grain conference in Kiev on Thursday.

"We anticipate that prices will rise slightly. We'll see at the end of the season that the price would go somewhat up, because Ukraine will be able to export nearly all of its remnants by the end of May. There'll be almost nothing left in June. World prices would go slightly up. Yield in Europe will be lower. The prices will be somewhat better for our agricultural producers," Ukrainian media quoted Gorbachev as saying.

He said he expected the logistical factor, including the operations of the Greater Odessa ports, to improve, which would enable Ukrainian farmers to focus not only on commercially beneficial types of crops in 2025, which aren't profitable for them this season, but also to increase production in all agricultural sectors.

Among problems that Ukrainian exporters would face in 2024, Gorbachev mentioned an anticipated alliance between France and Poland in opposing access of Ukrainian grain to the European market and lobbying for legislative and sanitary restrictions on Ukrainian businesses.

At the same time, Gorbachev said he was confident that this would prompt Ukrainian agrarian businesses to explore new markets.

"It's logical that we'll find them. Whether it's going to be Africa or there'll be some extra shipments to Asia, we'll sell all our grain anyway. There might again be competition somewhere, or we'll have to compromise on something or finalize something somewhere else [...] We'll be even stronger next year," he said.