Arista Trading drops wheat exports due to low margins
Arista Trading co-owner and CEO Mykhailo Voronych said the company has temporarily stepped away from wheat trading because the segment currently does not provide sufficient margins. He shared this in an interview with Latifundist.com.
“I have completely stepped away from wheat for now — at the moment, it simply doesn’t make sense because there are no margins. My main crops have always been rapeseed and soybeans. Right now, they are moving less due to export duties. So corn remains. The core set is corn, rapeseed, and soybeans,” he noted.
According to Voronych, in 2025, the company traded around 400,000 tons of wheat, but the business did not generate significant profits. He attributed this to intense competition in the market, particularly from large international traders.
“This segment is very crowded — there are players paying very high prices, for example, Louis Dreyfus. I don’t fully understand their motivation. Perhaps they want to gain market share and then leverage it later. But from my perspective, it didn’t look like a profitable trade,” Voronych said.
Voronych added that in 2024 Arista Trading exported 3.6 million tons of agricultural products, while in 2025 exports declined to 2.8 million tons.
He explained the drop by three factors: more complicated logistics, a smaller harvest, and the introduction of export duties that reduced shipments of rapeseed and soybeans.
As for the current season, Voronych said the outlook could vary. On the one hand, logistical constraints may keep export volumes lower; on the other, a larger corn harvest could support shipments to foreign markets.
“Last year, there was a pause in corn exports during the summer. I think this year shipments will continue until August–September. They may even extend into September,” he added.
