Ukraine’s wheat exports to Middle East have increased by 46% in the first 4 months of the 2017-18 season.

Ukrainian farmers exported 829,100 tons of wheat to the Middle Eastern countries, which have traditionally been key markets for the country, over the first four months of the 2017-18 season (July 2017-June 2018). This figures amount to a 46% increase. Wheat shipments in this direction have increased despite competition from Russia, leading grain producer. Over the period under review, the Middle East region led in terms of buying all grain crops from Ukraine with a share of 23% of total exports. The Middle Eastern countries imported about 3.2 million tons of Ukrainian grain in July-October of 2017-18. It is noted that the region ranked second among the importers of Ukrainian grain in the same period of MY 2016-17 with a share of 22%, slightly less than that of the North African countries recorded at 24%. In the current season, North Africa ranks third with a share of 15%, according to the experts.