Ukraine has retained key grain export markets: Turkey, Egypt and China became the largest buyers

In the 2025/2026 marketing year, Ukraine retained its leading position in the world grain market, despite difficult logistical conditions and challenges associated with a full-scale war. The largest importers of Ukrainian grain were Turkey, Egypt and China, which topped the rankings of purchases of corn, wheat and barley, respectively.

This was reported by the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA).

The largest buyer of Ukrainian corn in the reporting season was Turkey, which imported **6.46 million tons** of products. The top five importers also included Italy (3.79 million tons), Spain (1.93 million tons), the Netherlands (1.68 million tons) and Israel (934 thousand tons). In total, three positions among the ten largest buyers of corn were occupied by the countries of the European Union.

In the wheat export segment, the leader was Egypt, which purchased 3.86 million tons of Ukrainian grain. The next largest importers were Algeria (2.78 million tons) and Indonesia (2.07 million tons). The top ten importers also included Yemen, Spain, Vietnam, Tunisia, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

The main buyer of Ukrainian barley in the 2025/2026 season was China with 487 thousand tons. Turkey took second place (297 thousand tons), and Libya came third (230 thousand tons). In addition, significant volumes of Ukrainian barley were purchased by Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Cyprus, Syria and Romania.

The Ukrainian Grain Association notes that, despite the difficult situation with export logistics, Ukrainian traders managed to maintain a wide geography of supplies. Domestic grain continues to enjoy stable demand both in the markets of the European Union and among traditional partners in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Grain exports remain one of the key sources of foreign exchange earnings for the Ukrainian economy and play an important role in ensuring global food security.