Ukrlandfarming suffers from rail cars shortage

Vasiliy Loboda, Deputy CEO at Ukrlandfarming
Photo by: Latifundist.com

Ukrlandfarming's grain elevators are overloaded as a result of grain rail cars shortage. The company reports not being able to deliver commodities to the port in time, UNIAN writes.

"Over the last three or four years, this (lack of grain rail cars and locomotives in Ukraine – ed.) is a huge problem for all farmers. It is especially pressing in autumn when late grains harvesting starts: soybean, sunflower and corn. Due to the lack of grain rail cars, the elevators are overloaded, and we fail to deliver our products to the port in time. Ukrlandfarming has the largest storage capacity in Ukraine — almost 3 million tons. The largest grain elevators are located in Sumy and Poltava regions — about 500 thousand tons each," said Vasiliy Loboda, Deputy CEO.

He informed that, in autumn, when severe weather events start, the agroholding has within two hundred hectares of unharvested corn. Thus, the moisture coming with rain or snow affects the quality and volume of the crop.

"The longer we keep corn in the field, the worse the prices for our products are as the quality deteriorates. Therefore, our efficiency has a direct impact on revenue," explained Ukrlandfarming's Deputy CEO.

Vasiliy Loboda stressed that the existing problem might also lead to the disruption of export contracts. As every partner with whom the agroholding concludes contracts wants everything including quantity, quality and terms to be under contract.

Since the start of 2019/20, Ukraine exported 1.69 million tons of grain and leguminous crops. Commodities shipment increased 2.2x (911 thou. tons) from the prior year's comparative period — 778 thou. tons.