Ukraine corn climbs to 5-month high on strong Turkish demand, logistics bottlenecks

Ukrainian corn prices hit a five-month high in late January, supported by strong Turkish buying—driven by the country's growing poultry sector—and limited availability at Ukrainian ports amid ongoing logistics constraints.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed Ukrainian corn FOB POC at $222.50/metric ton on Jan. 30 for loading Feb. 27-March 13, up from $218/mt on Jan. 5. Prices were also the highest since the start of the new crop season in October, when FOB POC was assessed at $213/mt on Oct. 6, 2025.

Market participants said demand from Turkey—particularly from the poultry and feed sector—has been the main driver of the rally. Turkey has been a major destination for Ukrainian corn in recent months.

According to Ukrainian port line-up data shared by a trader, 556,954 mt of corn has been loaded from Ukrainian ports to Turkey during Jan. 1 -23 and 998,520 mt during October-December, 2025.

Despite solid domestic corn production in Turkey this season, low opening stocks and expanding poultry output have increased import requirements.

"The demand is strong because the carry-in was historically low," a Turkish broker said. The broker added that about 3.7 million mt of corn could enter the Turkish market by August.

With domestic prices firming amid higher import needs, Turkey's grain board, or TMO, released corn from its stocks and set a sale price for domestic corn last week.

Importers are also anticipating a new import quota.

"Everyone is expecting a quota like last year, probably sometime within February," the same broker said, adding that feed and poultry industries are lobbying for it.

However, Turkish buying has now largely shifted to April loadings, as the market has been covered for February. "We have enough corn for this month (January) and next month," a Turkish importer said.

Beyond Turkey, demand for Ukrainian corn was also reported from European destinations including Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. According to Ukrainian port line-up data, 519,191 mt of corn has been loaded from Ukrainian ports to Italy during Jan. 1 -23 and 916,079 mt during October-December, 2025.

Spain could increase purchases amid trade uncertainty with the US, Ukrainian traders said.

Some interest was also heard from China, though traders said price indications were not competitive. "Heard enquiries from China, but [they] are not competitive for now vs other buyers," a Ukrainian seller said.

Strong destination demand has coincided with tighter port supplies, with traders pointing to internal logistics and infrastructure bottlenecks that are slowing farm-to-port flows.

CPT prices in the domestic market have also been rising, participants said. "There seems to be a tight supply as the local prices are going up," the same Ukrainian seller said.

"We are behind the normal export pace because of infrastructure obstacles. Logistics remain challenging. Upcoming frosts are not in favour as well for delivery from regions," another seller said.

Prices could strengthen further if Turkish demand remains active and logistical constraints persist, market participants said. "We see some demand left and right, so that's supportive for firmer prices," a Black Sea-based broker said.