Ukraine's MY 2023-24 corn exports drop 35% on year to 6.6 mil mt as of Dec 6

Ukraine's corn exports in marketing year 2023-24 (July-June) fell 35.1% year on year to 6.6 million mt as of Dec. 6, data from Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food showed.

Over Dec. 1-6, the country shipped 462,000 mt corn, against 659,000 mt during the same period a year earlier.

Ukraine, which is the world's fourth largest corn exporter, supplied 29.5 million mt of corn in MY 2022-23, according to ministry data.

In MY 2023-24, the nation's corn exports are expected to decline to 23 million mt, Victoria Sinitsyna, senior grains analyst with S&P Global Commodity Insights, estimated.

Ukraine reached an agreement Nov. 15 with global insurance providers to reduce shipping insurance costs for grain and other food items.

Earlier in November, the Ukrainian government introduced new rules on agricultural exports that included making registration compulsory for food export firms.

The new rules may lead to further delays in grain exports and increase logistical costs, an Odesa-based trader said.

Ukraine's corn exports have fallen this year primarily due to blocked Black Sea ports amid growing geopolitical risk in the region, market participants said.

The country has been exporting through river ports of Reni and Izmail on the Danube and transit routes through the EU. It has also developed a temporary marine corridor through the Black Sea to allow exports using the ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdenny.

This temporary corridor is crucial for Ukraine's agricultural exports, which have been affected since Russia backed out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative July 17.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the UN and Turkey in July 2022, allowed Ukraine to export 32.9 million mt of agricultural products through Pivdenny, Odesa, and Chornomorsk ports before Russia's withdrawal.