The Ukrainian Agribusiness Club forecasts that Ukraine’s grain exports could decline by 22% in the new 2014/15 season. Ukraine has very quickly become a major player on the global corn market. Last season’s corn exports of 20 million tons were four times the exports of only three years before and buyers have come to rely on the country as an alternative source of corn which had previously only been available from the Americas. Grain exports are estimated to be 26 million – 27 million tons for the 2014/15 season – a decline of 6.3 million – 7 million tons. Overall grain production for Ukraine for the upcoming season is forecast to be 55 million – 56 million tons – a drop of 6.5 million – 7.5 million tons from last year, mostly as a result of poor forecasts for the country’s corn harvest. Ukraine’s corn harvest is predicted to fall from a record 30.9 million tons last season to between 24.5 – 25.5 million tons this season, because of cold weather negatively affecting yields and the inability of farmers to afford imported crop inputs because of the devaluation of the hryvnia, which has fallen 30% this year because of the country’s political unrest.
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