Corn prices rise in Ukrainian ports due to frost and sales curbs

Prolonged cold weather has complicated auto logistics, farmers are postponing shipments, and the supply shortage is pushing prices up.

Corn prices in Ukrainian ports continue to grow amid low supply from producers. This is reported by Grain Trade.

As market operators note, prolonged frosts have worsened auto logistics and slowed down sales. Therefore, farmers are currently waiting for more favorable conditions for the sale and shipment of grain.

Over the week, export demand prices for corn with delivery to Black Sea ports have risen by $2–3/t — to $207–211/t, or UAH 10,200–10,250/t.

An additional driver of expectations from farmers remains the shortage factor: in Ukraine, according to estimates, about 8% of corn areas have not yet been harvested. At the same time, gross threshing is already 29 million tons, which is higher than last season’s figure (26.8 million tons).

At the same time, in January, Ukraine shipped 2.9 million tons of corn, the largest destinations were Turkey (625 thousand tons), Italy (606 thousand tons), Spain (280 thousand tons), Egypt (239 thousand tons) and Tunisia (229 thousand tons). In total, 8.8 million tons were exported during the season, which is less than last year (12.86 million tons) and is still significantly below the forecast for 2025/26 MY — 23 million tons (versus 20 million tons in 2024/25 MY).

On external platforms, price signals are restrained. March corn futures in Chicago have been holding at around $168/t for two weeks (approximately -3.5% per month) and are so far weakly reacting to the high pace of US exports and talk of a potential expansion of supplies to Asia.

In parallel, global factors remain mixed. In Brazil, the pace of harvesting the first crop is slightly behind last year, but sowing for the second crop is proceeding faster. In Argentina, drought has worsened the condition of crops, which has increased market tension, although rainfall may reduce stress on crops.

Separately, the market is monitoring the results of tenders. In particular, South Korean Nonghyup Feed Inc. (NOFI) purchased about 134 thousand tons of feed corn in an international tender on February 3 for delivery until June 10, 2026 at prices of $242.94–243.99/t C&F (with a surcharge for unloading), which, according to participants, is below previous guidelines.

It is noteworthy that as of early February, prices for Ukrainian corn have already updated their 5-month maximum.