Ukraine exported grain worth USD 7.2 billion in the 2018 calendar year, which is a record figure, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Interfax Ukraine news agency.
According to data from the Agrarian Economics Institute, the volume of grain exports reduced by 0.4% to 41.7 million tons in 2018, compared with 2017, and the record revenue was due to an increase in the export prices of grain.
Exports of wheat and barley reduced to 16.4 million tons and 3.6 million tons, respectively, in 2018, compared with 2017.
At the same time, according to the institute, corn exports increased by 10% to 21.4 million tons in 2018, compared with 2017. Export of rye quadrupled to about 100,000 tons.
According to the Agrarian Economics Institute, countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa remain the largest buyers of Ukrainian grain. Egypt was the leading buyer with 9.2% of the total, although its purchases of Ukrainian grain reduced by 20% to USD 666 million in 2018.
Spain was the second largest importer of Ukrainian grain for the second consecutive year (8.9% of the total). It increased purchases by 35% to USD 643 million. The following are also among the top buyers of Ukrainian grain: the Netherlands (USD 556 million), China (USD 552 million), Indonesia (USD 487 million), Saudi Arabia (USD 449 million), Italy (USD 336 million), the Philippines (USD 316 million), Tunisia (USD 290 million), Morocco (USD 263 million), and Libya (USD 248 million). Together, these 11 countries accounted for two-third of Ukrainian grain purchases.
Ukraine exported 28.52 million tons of grain and leguminous crops from the beginning of the 2019 fiscal year (July 2018-June 2019) to February 6, which is 16% more than it exported in the corresponding period of on the previous fiscal year.
As the CFTS portal reported earlier, the grain harvest in Ukraine exceeded 70 million tons in 2018.
