Sowing Promise at the Black Sea

30.07.2012. Once again, the Black Sea has become a vital source of food for the world's markets with a quarter of global wheat shipments coming from this region. With exports stretching from South Korea and Japan in the East to Brazil in the West, the Black Sea is no bit player. Market expert Alexei Gavrilov explains this market comeback.

Once again, the Black Sea has become a vital source of food for the world's markets with a quarter of global wheat shipments coming from this region. With exports stretching from South Korea and Japan in the East to Brazil in the West, the Black Sea is no bit player. Market expert Alexei Gavrilov explains this market comeback.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Black Sea region, which includes Ukraine and Russia, has returned to its historical place as a breadbasket. In addition to being a significant wheat exporter, it has also become a major player in the feed-barley market. Even corn exports are starting to build. And as a hungry world wants more food, the region will only grow in importance in coming years. It is considered one of the biggest underdeveloped agricultural areas as it has potential to significantly boost output and exports.

One symbolic example of how far the region has come was the January 2011 election of Alexei Gavrilov as president of the 133-year old Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA), an international non-governmental trade body. Not only is Gavrilov GAFTA's first Ukrainian president, but as head of Ramburs/United Grain Group, he was the group's first Ukrainian member. He witnessed the development of the country's post-communist grain industry first-hand, having started as a shareholder in the now-defunct Ukrainian Agrarian Exchange in 1994.

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