After a high-profile scandal related to fictitious grain sales transactions, in which law enforcement agencies suspect the former Minister of Agricultural Industry, the Ukrainian grain market began to rapidly change its behavior. One of the first reactions was a sharp restriction of purchases by large trading companies.

According to Latifundist.com, most key players have suspended the conclusion of new agreements for the purchase of grain from third-party elevators. This primarily concerns contracts on EXW terms, when the buyer actually acquires ownership of the grain already stored at the elevator and independently organizes its transportation.

This format, known in the market as “census” purchases, involves the transfer of rights to the grain without immediate physical movement of the product. It is this format that is currently losing trust among large traders who are seeking to minimize risks after the high-profile case.

According to Latifundist.com, these trends were confirmed by six sources at once - representatives of international trading corporations, leading Ukrainian grain traders and companies that manage the elevator infrastructure. They note that the market has begun to reorient itself to more controlled models of work.

At the same time, a complete halt in trading has not occurred. Some deals, where the transfer of grain occurs simultaneously with its actual shipment, continue to be implemented. However, even in this segment, traders are acting much more cautiously than before.

President of the Ukrainian Grain Association Mykola Gorbachev confirmed that some large companies have completely paused purchases at third-party elevators, while others have significantly reduced their limits. According to him, companies are trying to export the already purchased grain as soon as possible, but are avoiding new risky operations.

The FCA format, which involves the transfer of goods during actual shipment, is still used, but here too there is a significant decrease in activity. The market is gradually shifting its emphasis from paper transactions to physical control of the goods.

According to one of the top managers of the company that owns a network of elevators, it is now extremely difficult for farms to sell grain stored at third-party facilities without actual movement. Large buyers have effectively abandoned such deals or temporarily frozen them.

Instead, traders are increasingly working either through their own elevators or preferring supply models that provide greater control — for example, closer to ports or tied to actual shipment. In particular, contracts on CPT or CPT/DAP terms are gaining popularity.

Market participants note that the industry is gradually moving away from the practice of storing grain for years at third-party elevators and repeatedly reselling it only by changing entries in documents. Instead, a new model is being formed, focused on transparency, control, and the actual movement of products.