Ukraine. Export share of feed wheat down in MY 2020/21

Feed wheat accounted for 42% of Ukrainian wheat exports in the first half of this season vs. 45% at the same time a year earlier, UkrAgroConsult reports.

The food grain share increased due to a hotter, drier summer. In addition, the latter factor reduced yield and consequently the total crop size.

Moreover, the feed wheat portion decrease affected the behavior of domestic prices: while a year ago the spread between feed and milling wheat prices was UAH 200, it narrowed to UAH 100 in MY 2020/21. Late in the past week, they actually equalized.

However, it is still too early to speak of a feed wheat shortage. This is a normal practice for Ukrainian exporters: to sell feed grains first, holding back more expensive, quality ones until the latter half of the season. In addition, feed wheat price depends on the related markets of corn and barley, and these crops enjoy strong demand from China in MY 2020/21 that fuels price growth.