New Ukrainian grain contracts on hold over crisis in Crimea

Foreign trading houses have not resumed concluding new grain exports contracts due to continued tensions between Ukraine and Russia, Ukraine’s agriculture minister Ihor Shvaika said yesterday.

“They are still waiting and there are no new contracts,” Shvaika told Reuters.

Ukraine said it hoped the crisis in Crimea could soon be resolved through dialogue. Political instability and violence had caused some traders in Ukraine, the third-biggest maize exporter in the world, to hold back from agreeing new contracts, while Russian maize export prices have been rising for two weeks.

Ukrainian grain lobby UAC said that traders were continuing grain exports from terminals in Crimea, despite tensions. It said in a statement that 45,000 tonnes of maize had been sent from terminals in Sevastopol to Italy and Spain in the last two days.

But the lobby said that it expected a decrease in shipments in the near future.

Ukraine said this week it had exported around 25m tonnes of grain this season and planned to ship 8.7m tonnes before the end of June.