Grain exports dropped to 6.82 million metric tons so far from Ukraine in the 2023-2024 marketing year. The ag ministry says Ukraine shipped 8.99 million tons during the same period in the prior marketing year. The first three days of October saw 153,000 tons of exports compared to 297,000 tons a year ago.
While the ministry didn’t give a reason for the drop, traders and agricultural unions say the country’s ports on the Black Sea are getting blocked. Russia is attacking ports along the Danube River too. The exported volumes include 3.4 million tons of wheat, 2.7 million tons of corn, and 625,000 tons of barley. The Black Sea grain deal negotiated by the U.N. and Turkey ended in July.
Ukraine is expected to harvest a total of 79 million tons of grain and oilseeds in 2023, with the 2023-2024 exportable surplus totals expected to reach about 50 million tons.