Precipitation in Black Sea region improves crop prospects — Refinitiv

May rains succeeding the dry April allow the main grain producers of the Black Sea region — Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan — to hope for sizable exports in the new marketing season(2020/21), Refinitiv Agriculture writes.

Rich harvest as ever dependent on weather in the coming months will also relieve concerns about food security in the coming season for these three countries, which have already limited exports in the context of the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic, analysts say.

"Export of wheat from Ukraine in the new season is expected to decline to 17-19 mln t, as the May precipitation failed to come to one of the main grain regions — Odesa," the report says.

However, according to the report, the Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine having previously set an export quota of 20.2 mln t for the 2019/20 season, this week has raised its harvest forecast and plans to discuss the export quota for the new season in July when the forecast for the harvest becomes clearer.

On May 13, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal stated that the Government does not plan to limit wheat export from the country in 2019/20 as grain stocks are enough to cover the internal market's demand.