According to the Ukrainian mass media, export duties on rapeseed are applied only if the external delivery of this commodity is carried out by trading companies. The export of rapeseed by Ukrainian agricultural producers and agricultural cooperatives is not subject to export duties.
The Ukrainian market has already reacted to this administrative change in the “rules of the game” in favor of some and to the detriment of other market players. Traders started to reduce prices for rapeseed purchase under contracts in national currency by about 10% – from 24.5 to 23.9 hryvnias per ton. Prices for Ukrainian rapeseed under foreign currency contracts have remained unchanged so far – $535-540/t. Taking this into account, market analysts believe that the August duty on export rapeseed “will not stop its external supplies, but will only reorient them to foreign currency contracts”.
Some Moldovan grain and oilseed market operators assume that Ukrainian “selective” duties on export rapeseed may affect trade in this raw material in Moldova. Two factors are of importance in this regard. First – the Moldovan authorities have not included rapeseed in the list of goods, the import of which is regulated (i.e., in fact – restricted) by licenses. The second – since the beginning of the harvesting campaign, a rumor has been circulating in the corporate environment that Floarea Soarelui SA oil and fats plant plans to start the season-2025 with rapeseed processing. Moreover, the company has started purchasing this raw material.
In this context, it is possible that in the near future the company will decide to buy rapeseed directly from those operators of the Ukrainian market who will benefit from the decision of the Verkhovna Rada to introduce customs duties on rapeseed exports for some categories of exporters.
During the last week in the Republic of Moldova, rapeseed prices increased by about 0.1-0.2 lei/kg. In the north, buyers offer 8.3-8.4 lei/kg for this agricultural product, in the south – 8.5-8.6 lei/kg. That is, as prices for Moldovan rape grow, the option of its import from Ukraine for processing in Moldova becomes more and more realistic.
More details – in Friday’s issue of Logos Pressweekly
