November 4, 2010

Ukraine may reap record soy this season

Positive price trends are currently being seen on the Ukrainian market of soy, according to local news.

A rise in prices, first and foremost, is stipulated by the desire to attract additional volumes of oil-bearing crops. Buyers say that despite the price increase in demand, the number of proposals for oilseeds remains insufficient.

Processors currently announce their purchase prices for raw materials at UAH3,100-3,250 (US$389.79-$408.65) per tonne excluding delivery costs.

Last week, the purchase prices of most companies did not exceed UAH3,200 (US$402.36) per tonne excluding delivery costs.

According to analysts, taking into account the prospects for the gross harvest of oilseeds this year after the accumulation by processors of the main reserves of raw materials, stabilisation or even a decline in prices for oil-bearing crops are possible. On the other hand, the lack of proposals for high-quality soy, as well as a possible rise in prices for oilseeds and by-products on the world market will soon support domestic prices.

According to the updated forecasts made by APK-Inform, this season Ukraine will see a record soy harvest of 1.6 million tonnes, compared with the 1.04 million tonnes reported in the previous season (+53%). The potential of the domestic consumption of oil-bearing crops is estimated at 800,000 tonnes (650,000 tonnes last season), and exports 750,000 tonnes (262,000 tonnes).