IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Black Sea Wheat Exports Jumped Before Curbs Were Announced

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat shipments from the Black Sea breadbasket jumped last month, before governments imposed export curbs to protect supplies.

Ukraine shipped a record volume for March, while top supplier Russia exported its second-biggest amount for the month, according to data compiled by analysts. Romania didn’t report comparative numbers, but the nation’s prime minister said the exports were too large.

Weaker currencies in Russia and Ukraine increased the appeal of their supplies as food importers stocked up amid the coronavirus pandemic. The flood of shipments prompted Russia and Ukraine to impose quotas, while Romania banned exports outside the European Union as the producers sought to protect their markets.

“The export volume that was reached in March is very serious for this month in Ukraine,” said Elizaveta Malyshko, an analyst at UkrAgroConsult in Kyiv. “We had expected an increase, but it was hard to predict how high it would go.”

Russian wheat exports in April are likely to remain close to last month’s 3.3 million tons, according to the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies. That’s partly because traders could rush to ship grain before the three-month quota is depleted in June, said Dmitry Rylko, director general at the institute known as IKAR.

“It will be riskier to export in May,” Rylko said.

14.04.20

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