May 12, 2011

Egypt buys Ukrainian corn after export ban lift

Egyptian importers have purchased major volumes of Ukrainian corn after Ukraine lifted export restrictions on grain in late April, European traders said on Wednesday (May 11).

Egyptian buyers have purchased around 400,000 tonnes of Ukrainian corn in a series of individual purchases in the past two weeks, traders said.

"Ukraine is the natural suppler of corn to Egypt because of the short shipping route," a trader said. "Egyptian imports are moving back to their traditional pattern after being disrupted by state restrictions."

Ukraine's government on April 27 cancelled restrictive export quotas for corn due to healthy stocks. Ukraine had imposed grain export restrictions in October 2010 after its crop was devastated by drought.

Initial Egyptian-Ukrainian corn purchases were said to involve shipment between May and July, traders said.

"I think this process will continue with more Ukrainian corn sales into Egypt and other regional buyers such as Israel in coming weeks," one trader said.

A tender for 24,000 tonnes of corn from a consortium of Israeli buyers closes on Thursday (May 12). Ukraine may export up to two million tonnes of corn in the coming two months after the export restrictions were lifted, the head of large Ukrainian grain trader Hlib Investbud (HIB) said on Wednesday (May 11).