Return of Ukrainian wheat to the Vietnamese market: prospects and obstacles

12 July, 2018 at 16:07

Sych Maryna – grain market analyst at "UkrAgroConsult"

This month featured an important piece of news for Ukraine’s grain market: the Ag Ministry of Vietnam has decided to resume imports of Ukrainian wheat, which had been banned for three years because of quality complaints. However, what are the real odds of a rise in Ukrainian wheat exports to this market in MY 2018/19?

First of all, it should be pointed out that Ukraine has never before made large wheat shipments to Vietnam. During the last seasons leading up to the ban on imports of Ukrainian wheat (2015), its supplies to the Vietnamese market barely exceeded 100 KMT a season. The largest volume of Ukrainian wheat exports to the country was seen in the 2009/10 season, at 285 KMT.

Undoubtedly, the fact that Vietnam is a growing, promising market brings hope for a certain share therein. However, the main obstacle curbing the expansion of Ukrainian wheat’s portion in this end market is unfair competition.

UkrAgroConsult