Saudi Arabia stepped up barley imports from Ukraine by 17%

4 March, 2019 at 15:03

The pace of barley exports from Ukraine continues to slow. The country exported 3.25 MMT of barley in July-January 2018/19, or 24% less than in the same period last season and down 12% from the five-year average for this time.

Against the background of the overall decline in exports, Saudi Arabia remained the top importer of Ukrainian barley in the period under review. Shipments to this market increased to 2.22 MMT that is already 17% more than in the whole of MY 2017/18, reports UkrAgroConsult.

Growth continued in barley shipments to Japan, which imported 130.5 KMT in the reporting period against 34 KMT in the whole of the 2017/18 season. It is also noteworthy that Egypt already imported 65.2 KMT of Ukrainian barley at the time. No barley was shipped to this country in MY 2017/18, while 2016/17 supplies to Japan were insignificant.

China, still a major buyer of Ukrainian barley, reduced purchases by 59% this season, to 321.9 KMT against 789 KMT in July-January 2017/18. In addition, this season witnessed a considerable drop in barley exports to the EU.