TOP 10 Grain Exporters in 2018
Despite heavy rains, drought and generally unfavourable conditions for harvesting cereals, Ukrainian farmers have managed to produce 25.1 million tons of wheat in 2018 which is 1 million tons less than in 2016/2017. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated Ukraine cereal production for the current year at 25.5 million tons. Our producers have not disappointed us. Nevertheless, the average productivity of wheat decreased from 4.11 t/ha to 3.8 t/ha compared with the last season.
In the first 11 months of 2018, our foreign partners bought 37.43 million tons of Ukrainian grain. The regular importers are North Africa, Saudi Arabia, Asia, and the Middle East. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Ukrainian exports reached 17.6 million tons in the first 11 months of 2018 which is 7.2% more than in the first 11 months of the last season. The grain exports in 2018/19 are expected to reach 42 million tons.
Based on the State Fiscal Service report, Ukraine’s grain exports amounted to 3.57 billion USD. Barley, wheat, and corn exports contributed the most to the state budget.
Corn exports amounted to 12.88 million tons which is 2.148 billion USD in monetary terms. Large deliveries of corn were accepted by the ports of China, Egypt, and Holland.
The total exports of wheat amounted to 1.212 billion USD which is 6.8 million tons of crop. The main importers of wheat were Morocco, Egypt, and Indonesia.
Large exports of Ukrainian barley, amounting to 1.072 million tons, were delivered to Libya, China, and Saudi Arabia. In total, the closed transactions brought the country 186.92 million USD.
The results of this year’s rating differ significantly from that of 2016/17. Some companies had to move down the list, while others broke into the top three ranks.
The rating is based on the data gathered by Latifundist.com in the domestic ports.
Nikolai Palanitsa, Latifundist.com
Exports, mln t: 4.48
In 2016/17, Kernel held the third position in the rating, but it has become the leader of grain exports in the first 11 months of 2018 taking up 12% of the total exports. In the first six months of the current year, the agriholding reduced the volume of exports by 26.8%, i.e. to 1.985 million tons of crop. According to the holding reports, the volume of transshipment at export terminals decreased by 3.8%. At the same time, grain acceptance increased by 4.7%, which could hint at that Kernel’s plans to ship grain to foreign partners at a very “appealing” price in the first quarter of 2019.
The agricultural holding owns large grain elevators in 16 regions of Ukraine. Kernel intends to reach EBITDA of 495 million USD by 2021 due to an increase in the total share of exports. The press service of the company reports the plans to increase grain procurement to 3.9 million tons by June 2019, which is 18% more than in 2017-2018. In the next two years, Kernel plans to invest 120 million USD in the construction of a terminal with an estimated reloading capacity of 4 million tons in the Chernomorsk Merchant Sea Port.
Exports, mln t: 3.72
NIBULON ranks 17th in the TOP-100 Latifundists of Ukraine. The holding owns a large network of linear and port elevators with a storage capacity of almost 2 million tons. According to the company, the holding shipped 1.411 million tons of grain for export in 2018/2019. The company transports about 60% of the grain by river routes to relieve pressure on Ukrainian roads.
This year, same as in 2017, NIBULON has confidently secured the silver medal in the exports race. Since the beginning of 2018, its total share of grain exports has amounted to 10%. The company aims to build a river fleet of 100 vessels to transport about 4 million tons of grain by the river arteries of the country.
According to Alexey Vadatursky, NIBULON CEO, the company plans to build a new river port in the Kherson region in the next 5 years. It also intends to receive the support of the central and local authorities. The river port will be located on the Dnieper estuary close to the village of Aleksandrovka in the Kherson region. Alexey Vadatursky noted that the construction of such a facility will make the Kherson region more attractive to foreign partners.
Exports, mln t: 3.03
COFCO Agri Ukraine is a subsidiary of the Chinese holding. It specializes in grain procurement, trading, and deep grain processing. Having launched a new terminal in the Mykolaiv Sea Port and arranged proper logistics, COFCO Agri Ukraine has rapidly moved from the twelfth position in the 2017 rating to the third position in the current one with 8% in the total share of exports. The corporation controls 8 enterprises, including a number of elevators, terminals, and an oil extraction plant in the South-Eastern part of Ukraine (the Mykolaiv, Kherson, Donets’k, and Dnipropetrovs’k regions). The holding invested 75 million USD in the construction and development of a modern terminal in Mykolaiv. In 2016, its annual grain exports amounted to 2.4 million tons and have reached 3.03 million tons since the beginning of the current year.
Exports, mln t: 2.84
With an export share of 8%, Bunge Ukraine has won the fourth place in the rating and shares the bronze prize with COFCO Agri Ukraine. The structure of the Ukrainian subsidiary of the international corporation includes elevators in the Kirovograd, Dnipropetrovs’k, and Odesa regions, a transshipment complex at the Nikolaev Sea Port, and an oil extraction plant in the city of Dnipro. Besides, according to Valeriy Koroviy, Head of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration, the company plans to build a modern corn processing plant with an estimated capacity of 100,000 tons per year in the Vinnytsia region. The investment is estimated at 14 million USD.
Based on the results of January-September 2018, Bunge managed to achieve 332 million USD of net profit compared with 220 million USD for the same period last year. This is an almost 1.5 increase. In the last year’s rating of grain exporters, Bunge Ukraine took fifth place with 1.89 million tons, and in the first 11 months of 2018, the figure reached 2.84 million tons.
Exports, mln t: 2.73
In 2016/2017, Louis Dreyfus Ukraine LTD held the first position in the rating of grain exporters with export volumes of 2.134 million tons. However, it has moved four positions down this year.
The company has a rich history of grain exports. As far back as 1864, it began shipping grain abroad from the Odesa and Zaporizhzhya regions. Today the holding has become a powerful player in the Black Sea Region. From January to November 2018, Louis Dreyfus Ukraine LTD exported 2.73 million tons of cereals from Ukraine which amounts to 7% of the total share of exports. In 2016, the export rate of Louis Dreyfus Holding B.V. reached 4.4 million tons.
In the six months of the current year, Louis Dreyfus made a profit of 100 million USD compared with 160 million USD last year. The grain trader has extensive distribution channels for agricultural products throughout the world (Asia, Africa, and the Middle East). The international French company owns 4 elevators in the Vinnytsia region and an elevator per region in the Cherkasy and Zaporizhzhya regions. Louis Dreyfus plans to build a new grain complex in Odesa. The launch of a multimodal facility is scheduled for the summer of 2019. In 2017, the company invested 8 million USD in the development and infrastructure of the Odesa Sea Port.
Exports, mln t: 2.57
The Ukrainian subsidiary of the international Archer Daniels Midland Company is engaged in the production of cereals, sunflower and exports of flour and vegetable oil. The ADM Trading Ukraine company owns 11 elevators, a grain terminal in the Chernomorsk Merchant Sea Port and the ADM-Illichivsk oilseed crushing plant. In 2018, the grain trader took the sixth position in the rating with the export volume of 2.57 million tons and a share of 7% in the total exports. In 2016/2017, ADM held the sixth position as well with volumes of 909 thou. tons of grain. In the first nine months of 2018, the net profit of ADM was 1.49 billion USD. The agro-industrial corporation plans to extend its production capacity to Bulgaria. It is currently building a processing plant there. The estimated investment in the construction of the plant is 123.41 million USD. It will create more than 300 new jobs.
Exports, mln t: 1.84
A subsidiary of the Cargill world grain trader has been operating in Ukraine for over 20 years. Cargill in Ukraine owns elevators in the Kirovograd and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The company is actively investing in the development of terminals. It allocated 130 million USD for the construction of a similar facility in the Yuzhny Sea Port. According to the general contractor, the facility will be able to receive vessels with a 100 thou. tons of deadweight. In mid-December, the company completed the assembly of grain silos at the Cargill and MV Cargo terminal.
According to the company, the operating earnings of the Cargill commodity trader in the first half of 2018 was 883 million USD, while the revenue grew by 5% compared with the previous period and reached 28.7 billion USD. Since the beginning of 2018, the export value of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Cargill was 1.84 million tons of grain compared with 1.46 million tons in 2017.
Exports, mln t: 1.75
Glencore Agriculture Ukraine, an enterprise with foreign investments, owns an extensive network of elevators in South-Eastern Ukraine and a grain terminal in the Chernomorsk Merchant Sea Port. The company exported 1.75 million tons of grain in 2018 which makes 5% in the share of exports. The grain trader has significantly improved its export performance compared to 2017 when the volume of grain exports amounted to only 864 thou. tons.
Glencore net profit increased 4 times in 2017 and reached 5.78 billion USD. In 2018, Glencore International began active disposal of its assets in Ukraine, part of which was sold to Kernel, Prometey, Agroalliance International Ltd. In the near future, Glencore plans to launch the construction of a railway access road in the Kharkiv region.
Exports, mln t: 1.54
The Agroprosperis agricultural holding, owned by the US NCH Capital group of funds, kept the ninth position in the 2018 rating of grain exporters which it won in 2017. This year, the holding has shipped 1.54 million tons of grain to foreign partners which is 4% of the total exports. The holding successfully operates in 14 regions of Ukraine. It owns 12 elevators with a capacity of 536 thou. tons and produces 1.5 million tons of grain per year.
In 2017, the holding exported 794 thou. tons of grain. The company annually invests about 10 million USD in modernizing its elevators. The annual turnover at the elevators exceeds 1 million tons of grain. Thanks to its own railway fleet of 400 wagon cars, Agroprosperis has transported 30% of the total grain volume planned for 2018 which amounts to 580 thou. tons.
Exports, mln t: 1.42
SFGCU comes last in the Top-10 rating of grain exporters. The company owns 45 facilities which include elevators, mills, a feed- and a cereal plant. Since the beginning of the year, SFGCU has exported 1.42 million tons of grain taking up 4% of the total exports. In 2016/2017, the grain corporation exported 833 thou. tons of grain and occupied the eighth place in the last year’s rating. The total volume of grain storage in all elevators is 3.73 million tons. Since the beginning of 2018/2019, the facilities of SFGCU have stored 1.52 million tons of grain.
In the first 9 months of 2018, SFGCU profits from operating activities reached 102.3 million UAH. According to Irina Marchenko, acting CEO of the corporation, the positive dynamics of the enterprise is due to successful marketing and trading activities. In January-September 2018, the corporation succeeded in obtaining 7.33 billion UAH of net income and fixed its gross profit at 417 million UAH. Together with the increased revenue, SFGCU increased the net loss by 4.5 times. Last year it amounted to 1.3 billion UAH.
