Kernel exported record-breaking 4.4 million tons of soft commodities in the first half of the marketing year 2019, setting the historic maximum for all the years of the company’s operation. Compared to the same period last year, the export of Kernel’s business segments increased by 30%.

According to Stark Research, in July-December 2018 Kernel ranked first among Ukrainian exporters of oils, grains, and oilseeds, being almost twice ahead of COFCO and Bunge in the segment of sunflower oil export. The company plans to double its volumes by the end of the season and export 8 million tons of soft commodities in the marketing year 2018-19.

Kernel’s export of grain and oilseeds increased by 66% over July-December 2018, to 3.1 million tons. This excellent result was supported by record yields and harvest of spring crops in Ukraine, as well as by the efforts of our Procurement Department in originating strong grain volumes from third-party farmers. The company also maximized the transshipment volumes at its Transbulkterminal, as well as used third-party infrastructure – the largest in Ukraine grain export terminal TIS in the port of Yuzhnyi.

“Kernel has almost all markets opened to its products, but the split between countries and regions varies from year to year due to various factors. The top five importers of our grain during the first six months of the 2018-19 marketing year included the Netherlands, Spain, Kenya, China, and Indonesia. Export to the countries of East Africa and Southeast Asia, in particular, to the Philippines, have considerably increased. At the same time, problems with the level of water in the rivers of northern Europe have resulted in the temporary decrease in supplies to this key region for our company”, comments Oksana Karabin, Head of Grain Trading Department. “We are planning to keep the high pace and to double the result achieved in the first half of the marketing year by the end of the season. This is certainly an ambitious plan, while the search for demand on world markets and solving difficulties with the internal logistics will be the biggest challenges for us”.

A record-breaking harvest of sunflower has a positive effect on the sunflower oil production segment. Kernel has increased sales volumes by 8% this season: up to 777 thousand tons, with the growth driven by the export to Iraq, India, and China.  Kernel’s key partner in the Chinese market, Sinopharm Fortune Way Limited, which became the first importer of Ukrainian sunflower oil in the PRC about 10 years ago, recently awarded Kernel the title of Best Supplier.

“This season, we focused not only on changing the geography of export supplies, but also on moving away from FOB sales, where Kernel traditionally covered more than half of all multinational traders’ demand, and on managing the supply chain from the field to the final importer”, says Andrew Paladiy, Head of Sunflower Oil and Meal Trading Department. “At the same time, we combine Kernel’s many years of experience in Ukraine and the expertise of our trading company, AVERE COMMODITIES S.A., in the international market. This program started in September 2018 and during 5 months our companies have become leaders among the suppliers of sunflower oil on the key countries markets”.

At the end of December 2018, Kernel shipped 58,000 tons of sunflower meal to China: it was the largest meal consignment from one producer in the history of Ukraine, shipped from a one single port.

Information:

Kernel is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil and a key supplier of agricultural products from the Black Sea region to world markets. Since 2007, the shares of the company are traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. In 2017, Kernel successfully debuted on the Eurobond market having placed five-year bonds worth USD 500 million at the rate of 8.75 % on the Irish Stock Exchange. Company employs more than 15 thousand people today.

Kernel’s share in the world sunflower oil production is about 8%.

The company sells its products to more than 60 world countries including India, Egypt, Turkey, and the EU countries among the key markets of destination.