Ukraine has tripled its corn exports in three years to reach shipments of 18.5 million tons for 2013/14 and to become the world’s third biggest corn exporter behind the U.S. and Brazil. Because of escalating anti-government protests and civil unrest that began in November 2013 when President Viktor Yanukovych pulled out of a free trade deal with the EU in favor of Russia, doubt is being cast on the country’s stability. As a result corn prices have increased as much as $7 per ton within two days. If the unrest continues, global lending institutions may shy away from exposure to Ukrainian agricultural companies. The larger global grain traders that have operations outside of the country should be insulated from any fallout. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Ukraine is expected to harvest a record corn crop of 30.9 million tons this year – up a significant 48% from the previous year. Ukraine has shipped between 11million and 12 million tons of corn since the marketing year began in October 2013 out of the total 18 million to 19 million tons to be shipped for the season. Ukraine is also the world’s biggest sunflower producer and is one of the top ten wheat exporting countries in the world.
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