Sixty percent of Ukrainian barley to be exported by truck, rail via Romania in 2023

MOSCOW. Aug 30 (Interfax) - Sixty percent of Ukrainian barley will be transported by truck and by rail across the Romanian border this year, Ukrainian media said with the reference to the Ukrainian Agrarian Council's agricultural cooperative (PUSK).

A reason for this decision is the increased freight cost, the report said.

"Most of the farmers are trying to export barley on their own. [...] Traders are not too interested in selling barley. The growing freight cost is a serious restraining factor. There is demand for Ukrainian barley but it appears to be more expensive: the price tag should be $110-$120 per tonne on CPT terms to ensure liquidity at river ports, but farmers will not deliver at such a low price," the analysts said.

It is more profitable for farmers to ship barley to borders, including the Chop checkpoint, instead of Reni, as the price there stands at $140 per tonne. Even farmers from central regions are getting interested in barley deliveries by truck to Romania, considering the less expensive logistics, they said.

The analysts noted the activity of processing companies on the barley market. The purchase price currently stands at 4,500-5,200 hryvni per tonne.

"On the first week of September the conditional prices for barley may grow to $195-$202 per tonne on DAP Constanta terms and $142-$147 per tonne on CPT river port terms," the Ukrainian Agrarian Council said.