19 Jan 2023 17:46

Ukraine exports 41.3 mln tonnes of agricultural products during crisis - Agrarian Policy Ministry

MOSCOW. Jan 19 (Interfax) - Ukraine supplied 41.3 million tonnes of agricultural products to foreign markets from February 24, 2022 to January 15, 2023, including 16.7 million tonnes of corn, almost 9 million tonnes of wheat and 3.4 million tonnes of sunflower oil, Ukrainian media reported, citing the website of the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry on Thursday.

According the data, 2.33 million tonnes of agricultural products were exported from the country on January 1-15, 2022, which is 1.3 million tonnes or 36% lower than in the first half of December 2022. In terms of crops, 1.1 million tonnes of corn (down 31% compared to December 1-15) and 437,000 tonnes of wheat (reduction by half) were shipped during this period.

Exports of sunflower seed oil also halved on January 1-15, 2023, to 148,000 tonnes, soybeans exports amounted to 200,000 tonnes (up 24%), sunflower meal of all kinds - 199,000 tonnes (down 21%), sunflower seed - 93,000 tonnes (down 60%), barley -72,000 tonnes (down 25%), rapeseed - 44,000 tonnes (down 75%), soybean oil - 11,000 tonnes (flat).

According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, in the first half of January 2023, corn accounted for 48.3% of all the agricultural product exports, wheat - for 18.7%, meal - for 8.6%, soybeans - for 8.5%, sunflower oil - for 6.4%, sunflower seeds - for 4%, barley, rapeseed and soybean oil - for 3.1%, 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively.

On January 1-15, 2022, 71% of all the agricultural products were exported from Ukraine through seaports (1.66 million tonnes), 21% by rail (0.49 million tonnes), 7% by roads (0.16 million tonnes).

As reported with reference to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, in December 2022, Ukraine exported 6.8 million tonnes of agricultural products, in November - 5.9 million tonnes, in October and September - 6.9 million tonnes, in August - 4.6 million tonnes, in July - 2.7 million tonnes, in June - 2.17 million tonnes, in May - 1.74 million tonnes, in April - 0.97 million tonnes and in March - 0.33 million tonnes.

Before the crisis, Ukraine exported an average of 5-6 million tonnes of agricultural products every month, mainly through its maritime infrastructure in the Black Sea.