23 May 2021
The biggest Ukrainian grains exporters 2020/21
Kernel, Nibulon and Louis Dreyfus are the largest Ukrainian grains exporters (shippers) in the marketing year 2020/21.
Since the start of the current season in July 2020 and till the end of April 2021, Ukraine exported about 38 million tons of grain, by 22% less than in the same period of previous marketing year. The reason is a significant reduction of grains crop in 2020.
Kernel Holding remains the leading Ukrainian grains exporter and shipper with a rather big gap from its competitors – in the current season the company has already exported 6.4 million tons or 17% of the total Ukrainian grains export volume. Despite the negative market situation, Kernel increased its exports compared to the same period of previous season (+ 6%).
In addition to the fact that the situation with the yield of the main grain crops at Kernel in 2020 was significantly better than the average in Ukraine (Kernel grain production was about 2.5 million tons), we note that the company is quite active and aggressive in purchasing grain from third parties - Kernel owns the largest fleet of grain railcars in Ukraine, as well as one of the largest grain port terminals in the country. The company is doing everything to maximize the utilization of its assets.
After Kernel the largest exporters of Ukrainian grain in the 2020/21 season were Nibulon (3.57 million tons, -9% to the previous season) and LDC (3.5 million tons, -5%). The complete list of TOP-10 largest shippers is as follows:
Shipper
Volume, M tons
Kernel
6.4
Nibulon
3.6
LDC
3.5
Cargill
2.7
Sierentz
2.5
Cofco
2.4
Agroprosperis (NCH)
2.0
ADM
1.7
Bunge
1.7
Olam
1.6
As we can see, the list includes only Kernel, Nibulon, international traders, and Agroprosperis (one of the largest Ukrainian agricultural holdings with a strong origination arm, owned by the American group NCH).
In terms of major crops, the largest Ukrainian exporters of wheat during July 2020 - April 2021 were Nibulon and Kernel (1.7 million tons each). They are followed by LDC (1.4 million tonnes), Cargill (1.2 million tonnes) and Sierentz Global Merchants (1 million tonnes).
As for corn, Kernel is the clear leader (4.1 million tonnes), followed by LDC and Cofco (1.5 million tonnes each). The TOP-5 also includes Nibulon and Cargill.