Ukraine has exhausted its quota for duty-free wheat exports to the European Union, meaning additional shipments will face import duties and may become uncompetitive on the EU market. According to GrainTrade, European buying activity has consequently declined sharply, with buyers reportedly stopping purchases of Ukrainian wheat at the western border.
Export flows are instead being redirected toward the Danube ports and Constanta in Romania, increasing the importance of these logistics corridors for Ukrainian wheat. The shift is commercially significant for Black Sea and Danube traders, as exporters seek alternative outlets while western-border demand weakens.
The source also reports that substantial wheat availability and limited export logistics capacity are adding pressure to Ukrainian domestic prices, which continued to decline during the week. In contrast, Constanta prices for food wheat increased to $244/t DAP for Class 2 and $241/t DAP for Class 3. The quota exhaustion is therefore likely to widen regional price and basis differences, although the article provides no details on the quota volume or duration of the duties.