Ukrainian agricultural exports fell on the month in May because lower corn deliveries and weaker sunflower oil and meal shipments outweighed higher rapeseed and soybean exports, though total exports stayed higher on the year.
Ukraine shipped 4.7mn t of grains, oilseeds and products in May, down from 5.19mn t in April but higher than 4.04mn t a year earlier, customs data show.
Shipments from the deep-sea ports of Pivdennyi, Odesa and Chornomorsk (POC) fell to 4.2mn t in May from 4.66mn t in April. POC terminals handled 89pc of Ukraine's total agricultural exports last month, down by four percentage points from April but three percentage points higher than a year earlier.
Exports from Danube river ports dropped to 62,000t in May, down from 101,000t in April, accounting for just 1pc of the total. Exports by land using truck and rail rose to 422,000t in May, making up 9pc of shipments — one point higher than in April.
Corn leads grain exports
Corn continued to lead grain exports in May thanks to buying interests from Turkey, even though corn shipments in May have slowed notably compared with April.
The country's corn exports dropped to 2.38mn t in May from 2.73mn t in April but exceeded 2mn t a year earlier. Cumulative exports for the 2025–26 year ending 30 September reached 18.35mn t by the end of May, up from 17.56mn t a year earlier.
The decrease has partially stemmed from national holidays in Turkey the biggest corn buyer for Ukraine towards the end of May. Turkey has taken 920,000t in May, down from 1.02mn t in April. Italy, the Netherlands, Israel and Belgium were other major destinations.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's wheat exports continue to trail behind historical records as a result of slow exports earlier in the present marketing year. Ukraine's wheat exports edged down to about 1.29mn t in May from 1.33mn t in April, though higher than 850,000t a year earlier. The country has exported 12.42mn t of wheat in total by the end of May, the lowest since 2014–15. Egypt was the largest buyer in May, taking 420,000t, followed by Algeria and Indonesia.
The country's barley exports were also quiet. It has only exported Barley exports fell to 15,000t of barley in May, down from 60,000t in April and 41,000t a year earlier. Its cumulative 2025–26 barley exports reached 1.46mn t by the end of May, down from 2.25mn t a year ago. Argus forecasts Ukraine's total barley exports for 2025–26 at 1.5mn t, well below the latest USDA projection of 2.2mn t.
Thanks to stronger corn and wheat exports on the year, Ukraine's total grain exports fell to 3.68mn t in May and stayed above 2.89mn t exported a year earlier, even though its total exports were slower than 4.12mn t in April.
Oilseed, vegoil exports edge lower
Seed and oil exports slowed slightly on the month and on the year because available stocks for exports have dwindled towards the end of 2025-26, as a result of smaller crops in the present marketing year.
Exports of oilseeds, vegetable oils and meals fell to 1.02mn t in May from 1.08mn t in April and from 1.15mn t a year earlier.
Sunflower oil exports decreased to 394,000t in May from 441,000t in April and 461,000t a year earlier. Spain was the largest buyer, followed by India and Italy. Combined sunflower and rapeseed meal exports dropped to 248,000t from 406,000t in April and 345,000t last year. China stayed the leading destination, buying 136,000t of meal, down from 230,000t in April.
Rapeseed exports were the only sector with growth on the year and on the month rose to 123,000t in May from 20,000t in April and 34,000t a year ago. Belgium was the top destination, followed by Germany and the Netherlands.
Soybean exports edged up slightly on the month to 198,000t in May from 162,000t in April but remained below last year's 270,000t. Poland was the largest buyer in May, followed by Hungary and Georgia.
