TOP 15 Wheat Exporters in 2016/2017

The last year was a record-breaker for Ukraine in terms of grain exports. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, the country harvested 26.1 mln tons of wheat from 6355.4 thousand ha with an average wheat yield of 4.11 tons per ha. 17.5 mln tons of grain were exported for USD 2.759 billion which is 592 thousand tons more than last season.

Considering unfavorable weather conditions, Ukrainian agrarians had little hope harvesting 25 mln tons of wheat predicted by USDA. Nevertheless, the yield surpassed the expected figures.

The largest export shipments in terms of monetary value were made to Egypt, Indonesia and Bangladesh. The exports to Egypt amounted to USD 438.2 mln, i.e. 15.9% of the total exports, to Indonesia — USD 327.7 million (11.9%), and to Bangladesh — USD 308.7 million (11.2%). 61.1% of wheat (USD 684 billion) was exported to other countries. The proportion of the product in the total exports amounted to 6.4% in export monetary value.

2017/2018 had a difficult start for Ukrainian exporters. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the harvesting campaign for spring crops and oilseeds started later than it was planned. The total gross production of spring and winter crop is likely to be lower compared to the last year’s. This means increasing competition in the domestic market.

As of February 1, 2018, grain storages and processing facilities collectively accommodate 572.6 thousand tons of second class wheat which is 92% of the grain stored last season.

The global production of wheat in 2017/2018 will amount to 757 mln tons, which is 8 mln tons more than it was forecasted in November 2017. The global 2017/2018 wheat trade will meet the November forecast and amount to 174 million tons, which is 2 million tons less than that of 2016/17. At the same time, the 2017/2018 wheat consumption forecast predicts an increase by 2 million tons (up to 744 million tons) compared with the November forecast.

Based on the data provided by the home seaport agents, Latifundist.com ranked the largest wheat exporters of 2016/2017.

Sophia Yaroshenko, Latifundist.com

1. Louis Dreyfus — 2 134 thou. t

Louis Dreyfus Commodities Ukraine LTD — the largest foreign exporter of Ukrainian grain since 1998 — is the leader of our ranking. Although 2017 involved damaging trader resignations, the net profit of the company in the first half of 2017 was USD 160 million, which is 16% more than in 2016 (USD 135 million). The company has representative offices in more than 100 countries. It is one of the largest suppliers of agricultural products in the world. The company is also engaged in trade, production, and processing.

In 2016, Louis Dreyfus Commodities Ukraine LTD exported goods worth of UAH 3.54 billion. The main export positions were wheat (61%), corn (26.7%), barley (7.6%), and soybeans (4.5%). The company also supplied flax seeds to foreign markets.

2. NIBULON — 1 669 thou. t

Leading in the last season’s ranking with UAH 5413 million of exports, NIBULON won the honorable second place this season. However, the company still leads in the total exports of grain, having reached a record amount of 4.65 mln tons of wheat in this season’s exports. The holding supplies products to the Middle East, North Africa, and the EU and continues strengthening its positions in the markets of the South- East Asia and Africa.

Recently, the CEO of the company Alexei Vadaturskiy stated that NIBULON plans to increase the export volumes to 8 mln tons of grain per season in the near future.

3. Kernel-Trade — 1 534 thou. t

In 2017, the total exports of the company Kernel-Trade increased by 14.8% to 5.06 mln tons and the sales of bulk sunflower oil increased by 10.1% to 1.08 mln tons. Nevertheless, the net profit of the largest agricultural holding of Ukraine amounted to USD 176.2 million in 2017, which is 21.7% less than in 2016. In 2016, the grain trader exported UAH 5154 million of wheat to the global grain markets.

4. Cargill — 1 460 thou. t

The parent company Cargill invests in food production. The company operates in 68 countries around the world selling grain, vegetable oil, sugar and other products. It is also the largest manufacturer of agricultural products. In 2016, the Ukrainian grain trader exported almost USD 4 mln of wheat. The grain constituted 25% of the company’s exports.

In December 2017, the Chinese corporation CHEC was reported to have completed the dredging in the water area of the future Cargill terminal three months earlier than planned and excavated 4.4 million m³ of soil. According to the agreement, CHEC was to finish the project on March 31, 2018.

5. Bunge (Suntrade) — 1089 thou. t

Suntrade is a Ukrainian subsidiary of the international agroholding Bunge Ltd. In 2016, the company exported UAH 2758 mln of wheat.

At the end of 2017, the parent company received USD 116 mln of net profit from grain sales, which is 3 times less than its 2016 net profit of USD 375 mln. In particular, in the fourth quarter of the past year, it amounted to USD 44 mln, which is less than the company made over the same period in 2016 (USD 103 mln).

The company has been considering a joint-project with an operator in the oil transshipment market Every. The companies intend to unite their storage tanks with a 3 km long oil overpass. The overpass will cover areas both above and under the ground. To implement the project, the holding applied for a 6 thousand km² land lot in Mykolayiv city, the needed width of the lot is 2 m. The Council of Architecture and the Council of Deputies agreed to grant the lot. The matter has been moved to the Land Committee.

6. ADM — 909 thou. t

In 2017, ADM Trading Ukraine — a subsidiary of the international agro-industrial corporation Archer Daniels Midland Company — managed to increase its net profit by 25% to USD 1.59 billion. However, the parent company is not solely interested in increasing profit. The largest American grain trader is about to acquire the rival company Bunge Ltd. Analysts predict that the merge of ADM and Bunge might be hurdled by the antitrust laws in the US and, possibly, in Brazil and China. To satisfy regulators, the companies are likely to alienate such assets as silos and processing plants in North America which will surely be sought after by competitors.

Recently, Ruben Beliaev, Senior GR Manager ADM Trading Ukraine, has appealed to the Minister of Ecology Ostap Semerak with a request to defer the introduction of standards for atmospheric emissions of sunflower husk fired boilers. The holding representative explained that the current standards were introduced by Order No. 540 in 2009. They are extremely hard. The European Commission plans on implementing similar standards for boilers with capacities up to 5 MW only in 2030.

7. Glencore — 864 thou. t

A leading Swiss grain trader Glencore has been present in Ukraine since 1996. Glencore Grain Ukraine operates in 11 regions of the country, and owns 25 elevators. The company holds the control stock of the enterprise Kolos (Peresechansky Oilseed Processing Plant) in Kharkov region and Illichivsk Grain Terminal. It exports wheat, barley, soybean, rapeseed, and corn.

By the end of 2017, the net profit of Glencore increased fourfold to USD 5.78 billion (in 2016 it was USD 1.38 billion). The profit from the agricultural sector of the company grew by 15% to USD 25.3 billion. In 2017, the sales volumes of grain increased by 3% to 45.3 mln tons, vegetable oil and oilseed crops by 11% to 29.6 mln tons, and sugar by 40% to 0.7 mln tons.

8. State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine — 833 thou. t

Despite the constant changes in its top-management team, the State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine became one of the top 10 wheat exporters in 2017.

The domestic state-owned company was founded by the government of Ukraine in August 2010. Its branches include line and port elevators, mills, fodder and grain factories. The total storage capacity of all the company’s 53 branches is 3.75 mln tons of grain. The joint transshipment export capacities of Odessa and Mykolayiv ports amount to about 2.5 million tons of grain cargo per year.

9. Agroprosperis — 794 thou. t

In 2017, Agroprosperis Group exported 794 thousand tons of wheat to the global markets. The Ukrainian agricultural holding belongs to a group of funds managed by NCH Capital (USA), a company founded by George Rohr and Moris Tabacinic. With the annual production of 1.5 mln tons of grain, the holding invested USD 8 mln in purchasing 200 railway wagons for the transportation of grain. Uninterrupted logistics is very important for a holding that owns 12 elevators. The holding exported grain to the markets Middle East, Europe and Asia.

10. Engelhart — 570 thou. t

Limited Liability Company Engelhart CTP (Ukraine) is a subsidiary of an international trader Engelhart Commodities Trading Partners. Annually this company produces, transports and sells about 15 mln tons of agricultural goods all over the world.

11. Black Sea Commodities — 526 thou. t

This international agricultural grain trader specializes in exporting wheat, coffee, rice, sugar, vegetable oil and other food products.

12. COFCO — 514 thou. t

A subsidiary of one of the largest corporations of agricultural production and exports Cofco, Cofco Agri Ukraine owns 4 elevators in Kherson, Dnepropetrovsk and Donetsk regions and actively exports Ukrainian grain.

Cofco Corporation invested USD 75 mln in the transshipment terminal in Mykolayiv seaport. The terminal can accommodate 120 railway wagons and 120 cars per day and accept approximately 10 thousand tons of cargo per day. The loading speed per vessel is about 20 thousand tons per day. The terminal was built based on Mykolayiv berths. It is equipped with grain storages, a grain cleaner and a dryer and operates a laboratory for grain quality testing.

13. BayWa — 418 thou. t

BayWa AG, with headquarters in Munich (Germany), was founded in 1923. The company primarily operates in Europe, the US and New Zealand. Its agricultural branch offers a wide variety of trade and other services for agricultural and food industry. The company established an office in Ukraine in July 2015.

14. UkrLandFarming — 333 thou. t

The company was founded in 2007. The list of its activities includes crop production, beef and dairy cattle breeding, production of eggs and egg products, sugar production, grain and industrial crop storage and trade.

In 2017, the land bank of the Ukrainian agroholding UkrLandFarming decreased by 5.8% to 570 thousand ha compared to its initial 605 thousand ha. According to the company’s owner Oleg Bakhmatyuk, the agroholding harvested about 2.5 mln tons of crop in 2017, which approximates the yields of the previous year. The plan for 2018 is to maintain and even slightly enhance the given crop yield. The holding wishes to adjust its strategy and expand sales in the domestic market.

15. CHS — 280 thou. t

CHS Ukraine is an agricultural company engaged in grain exports, investment in the development of port infrastructure and implementation of programs aimed at cooperation with Ukrainian farmers through effective financial tools. The company conducts a joint project with Syngenta and OJSC Concern Galnaftogaz. The two companies provide agrarians with fuel, seeds and plant protection products under deferred payment arrangements. The agrarians pay off the debt with grain which CHS Ukraine later exports. In 2018, the company will invest USD 100 million in the program.

CHS Ukraine has been operating in the country since 2008. It uses the terminal Olimpex Coupe in Odessa for grain transportation. Last year the terminal was instrumental in exporting more than 1 mln tons of grain to the global markets by the company. There are 9 regional company managers in Ukraine and 2 offices in Odessa and Kiev. A Geneva office supervises procurement and export prices.