Kernel doubles Ukraine grain exports, cuts oilseed processing 32% in fiscal Q4
Ukrainian agroholding Kernel cut oilseed processing 32% year on year to 645,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter of its 2026 financial year, hit by a weak sunflower harvest. Over the same period grain exports from Ukraine more than doubled, and its terminals handled a record 9.587 million tonnes for the year.
Kernel, one of Ukraine's largest agroholdings, reported a sharp divergence between its oilseed crushing and grain trading operations in the fourth quarter of its 2026 financial year (April–June 2026), according to an operational report cited by Interfax-Ukraine. Oilseed processing fell 32% year on year to 645,000 tonnes, while grain exports from Ukraine more than doubled against the same period a year earlier. The figures point to a shift in the company's trading mix as its core sunflower business runs into a supply squeeze.
Sunflower shortage weighs on crush
Total oilseed processing for the 2026 financial year came in at 3.185 million tonnes, down 8% from 2025, which the company attributed to limited sunflower seed availability on the domestic market after one of the worst sunflower harvests in Ukraine in the past decade. Kernel said the decline was partly offset by processing alternative oilseeds, notably soybeans and rapeseed.
Lower crush volumes fed through to sales. Edible oil sales dropped 12% in the fourth quarter to 338,000 tonnes, though full-year sales still reached 1.407 million tonnes, up 2% on 2025, supported by the release of vegetable oil stocks built up in earlier quarters. Bottled sunflower oil accounted for 14,000 tonnes in the quarter, down from 19,000 tonnes a quarter earlier.
Grain volumes set records
Kernel's grain exports from Ukraine reached 2.011 million tonnes in the final quarter, up 33% from the previous quarter and more than double the year-earlier figure. The company linked the surge to increased grain supply on the domestic market as farmers accelerated sales toward the end of the season. Full-year grain exports from Ukraine totalled 6.265 million tonnes, 15% higher than in 2025.
Grain intake at the group's elevators reached 320,000 tonnes in April–June, against just 34,000 tonnes a year earlier, lifting full-year receipts to a record 4.341 million tonnes, up 60%. Kernel said the increase reflected a larger share of corn in its 2025 harvest and higher intake from third-party suppliers. Transshipment through export terminals rose to 2.699 million tonnes in the quarter — 3% above the previous quarter and 49% above the same period of 2025 — with grain making up 80% of the total, edible oils 12% and the balance vegetable meal. For the full year, the terminals handled a record 9.587 million tonnes of agricultural products, up 5%.
Earnings and market position
Kernel describes itself as the world's largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil and the largest grain exporter from Ukraine, running an extensive network of logistics assets. For the first nine months of the 2026 financial year, the company reported net profit down 5% to $208 million, revenue broadly flat at $3.092 billion and EBITDA up 1% at $403 million. The results underline how the shift from higher-margin crushing toward grain volumes is reshaping the group's earnings.
