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Rising soybean prices and a lack of local supply are prompting Ukraine to turn to imports, AgriCensus market sources said on February 23.
The combination of one of the smallest harvests in years, farmers' reluctance to sell their soybeans and strong domestic prices have opened up opportunities for imports into the country, AgriCensus wrote.
Ukrainians have started looking to Brazil for an alternative supply, several sources told AgriCensus.
Ukraine imported 20,000 tonnes of Brazilian soybeans in July 2020, according to the AgriCensus Export Dashboard.
“One of the main reasons some crushers are looking to import soybeans is the positive margin,” said a source at a Ukraine crusher.
However, the source added that the purchase of imported soybeans does not exclude the purchase of Ukrainian soybeans at acceptable prices.
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In 2020, soybean production in Ukraine fell by almost a third to a seven-year low of 3.1 million tonnes due to a combination of farmers planting a quarter less area and yields falling by 9% after a dry summer, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
This caused Ukraine's soybean exports to fall by 50% since the start of the marketing year to 1.06 million tonnes at the end of January, customs data showed.
Meanwhile, soybean stock levels in the country were 18% lower on the year at 1.041 million tonnes at the end of January, according to the latest data from UkrStat.
Ukrainian crusher stocks fell 28% on the year to 671,200 tonnes, AgriCensus said, with producers holding 10% more stock than last year.
This text was automatically translated from English.
Source: OFI Magazine
