Tuesday, 18 April 2017

Black Sea agribusiness news in brief

Russian wheat export prices were flat last week, supported by a 1.6% rise in the rouble against the dollar, according to IKAR.

Last month’s total market year grain exports stood at 27.6mmt, down one million tonnes on the same point last year.  Russian grain exports for April are expected to remain low due to Turkey no longer buying Russian grain because of Russia's unwillingness to lift a ban on Turkish tomatoes.

Ukraine’s Kernel Group is finalising the purchase of the Ukrainian Agrarian Investments holding company.

listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Kernel handles about 7.0mmt of agricultural commodities per year and supplies grain and sunflower oil.  If the deal goes ahead Kernel would become Ukraine’s largest land user with a land bank of 700,000 hectares.

Ukraine has completed applying fertiliser to 7.1mha of winter grains and 872,000ha of winter oilseed rape. Spring cereal planting stand at 2.2mha from an expected 2.4mha while corn, sunflower and soya planting has started across the country.

Meanwhile spring cereals and legumes planting in Russia are reported at 2.8mha with other spring crop planting underway in most regions although the Deputy Minister of Agriculture has reported that climatic conditions in the Volga Federal District has delayed spring field works.

Kazakhstan are also reporting the late arrival of spring in the southern regions has forced farmers to revise the dates of spring field work there.