Agricultural exports from Ukraine fell in November as an increase in shipments of corn and sunflower oil (SFO) failed to offset lower exports of wheat, barley, soybeans and rapeseed, customs data show.
Ukraine exported about 5.48mn t of grains, oilseeds and by-products in November, down from 6.01mn t in October but slightly up from 5.46mn t in November 2023.
Exports by all transports fell in November. But in relative terms, shipments from the deep-sea ports of Pivdennyi-Odesa-Chornomorsk (POC) continued to increase, reaching around 82pc of Ukraine's total agricultural exports. This is up from 80pc in October and only 50pc in November 2023.
Agricultural exports from Danube river ports fell to 362,740t in November, from 495,225t shipped in October and 1.54mn t in November 2023. The share of products exported from Danube ports has declined to 7pc, down from 8pc in October and 28pc in November 2023.
Grains
Ukraine shipped 3.86mn t of grains in November, down from 3.92mn t in October, but up from 3.64mn t in November 2023 (see chart).
Corn exports continued to rise, to 2.6mn t in the reporting month from 1.93mn t in October and 2.33mn t a year earlier. Turkey remained the largest buyer of Ukrainian corn in November, followed by Spain, Italy and Egypt, according to customs export declarations.
In contrast, wheat exports fell to 1.11mn t from 1.65mn t in October and 1.13mn t a year earlier. Spain remained the largest buyer, while Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Tunisia made up the top five.
Barley exports declined to 157,382t last month, down from 350,055t in October and 181,368t a year earlier. Libya was the main buyer, followed by Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates.
Oilseeds
Ukraine exported 1.62mn t of oilseeds, vegetable oils and meals in November, down from 2.09mn t in October and 1.82mn t a year earlier.
Soybean exports fell sharply to 415,284t, from 715,697t in October and 505,832t in November last year (see chart).
Pakistan was the largest buyer of Ukrainian soybeans, followed by Egypt, the Netherlands and Turkey.
Ukraine's rapeseed exports fell to 290,583t last month from 475,214t in October and 349,495t a year earlier. This brought Ukraine's total rapeseed exports to about 2.7mn t since the start of the 2024-25 marketing year (July-June).
Exports of sunflower seed (SFS) amounted to only 1,242t in November, down sharply from 16,276t in October and 38,584t a year earlier.
Exports of sunflower meal (SFM) decreased to 356,553t in the reporting month, down from 383,643t in the previous month, and from 387,397t a year earlier. China was the largest buyer of Ukrainian SFM, followed by France, Poland and Egypt.
In contrast, sunflower oil (SFO) exports rose to 508,650t, from 458,260t in October and 506,218t a year earlier. India was the main destination for Ukrainian SFO in October. Spain, Italy, Iraq and Romania made up the top five.
