The rating covered main grain crops – corn, wheat and barley, and also oil crops – rapeseed and soybean which shipments represent the main export performed by using one and the same infrastructure (terminals). NIBULON is an absolute leader.
The calculation was made from the position of shipment within Ukraine’s residents. In our opinion, this more fairly characterizes operation and activity of companies both when exporting and “mining” grain on Ukraine’s domestic market than from the position of chartering.
According to the calculation, an absolute winner of the rating is NIBULON having exported 4,537 thousand tons; the second and third positions are taken by old “persecutors” of NIBULON, transnational affiliates Alfred C. Toepfer International Ukraine (ADM) – 4,078 thousand tons and Louis Dreyfus Commodities Ukraine – 3,557 thousand tons respectively. The top three leaders of export race ensured about 38 % and the first seven ensured about 3/4 of the total grain export from Ukraine (32.4 million tons).
Corn is the main grain export resource of Ukraine which annual export has exceeded 20 million tons. In 13/14 season NIBULON with the volume of 2,362 thousand tons or 11,7 % took first place.
Wheat, if someone had forgotten, was a “political” crop in 2013/14 season that was testified by a Memorandum between “government and grain traders”, according to former authorities.But with the country losing interest in the wheat market, coinciding with the emergence and activation of the Maidan, there happened nothing “terrible” to the country in terms of excessive wheat export. In this sense – market saved Ukraine!
We recollect this fact because “political” component and uncertainty had a bad influence on the market mood of grain exporters selling considerable volumes of grain in advance, “short”, to gain positions on the market.
However, even here NIBULON with the volume of 1,257 thousand tons or 13,4 % takes first place; the company, being between the two “M” (Memorandum and Maidan), had to worry about its export contracts with the Kingdom of Jordan, it seems.
In recent years barley has become “wrong” crop for Ukrainian agrarians and, especially, for exports. A monopsony market represented by Saudi Arabia is too uncertain, unpredictable, and risky.Consequently,we have been obsessed with the gross yield of barley at the level of 7-7.5 million tons out of which traditional 2-2.5 million tons are exported.
At the beginning of the last season they said that in early summer Louis Dreyfus traders successfully played in a “grain casino” on barley that made it possible for the company to dominate procurement on the domestic market and barley export from Ukraine. Anyway, Louis Dreyfus Commodities Ukraine exported almost a quarter of Ukrainian barley – 556 thousand tons in 13/14 season. The second position takes NIBULON with the share of 326 thousand tons (12.9 %).
Ukrainian rapeseed is export-oriented leaving no alternative; 90 % of its gross production was exported in 13/14 season, including 687 thousand tons by Serna (Glencore), 684 thousand tons by Alfred C. Toepfer International Ukraine (ADM), and 402 thousand tons by NIBULON.
Rapeseed export from Ukraine is a constant irritant for some personalities who are ignorant in peculiarities of merchandizing and marketing of oil crops, domestic/international rapeseed markets, rapeseed oil but want to “drive” rapeseed for processing and to make country happy by using different discriminatory instruments, including legislative hurdles (dues, no VAT compensation). As a rule, this is done before the elections.
Indeed, while running on rapeseed, the productivity of oil production equipment decreases by 30 % mainly because of the erucic acid that damages technological pipelines, and that is why “oil processors”, due to some reasons, keep from rapeseed processing to the last preferring sunflower and soybean.
Besides, it should be noted that due to the economic policy of the main biodiesel players, there have been established high prices for rapeseed on the international market. And in case of considerable competitiveness among rapeseed buyers on Ukraine’s domestic market, this ensures optimal domestic prices and profitability of this crop cultivation for Ukrainian agrarians.
Soybean is one of the world’s main crops containing protein, this crop has good conditions and prospects for cultivation in Ukraine which is proved by the dynamics of its gross yields. In recent years this crop has been a “lifesaver” for Ukrainian commodity producers in supporting their financial condition, has been in demand both on the domestic and foreign markets. According to the results of 13/14 MY, there have been exported 1,160 thousand tons or 42 % of all soybean produced (2774 thousand tons).
P. S.: Almost all things in this rating are logical and deserved, achieved “not due to, but despite” – beginning with NIBULON’s leadership and other companies having made colossal efforts to develop Ukraine’s export infrastructure and the whole grain market being Ukraine’s pride and glory.
Except one thing, namely presence of State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine (I apologize to ordinary people working there), an artificial nonmarket noncompetitive new formation, being able to exist due to the exclusive state administrative “supports” and flow of funds that cannot be afforded by our people and country now. The function has not been ordered!
