French grain terminal operator Senalia is considering developing a port facility in Ukraine and hopes to finalise a logistics joint venture in Algeria this year as it reaches beyond its home market for the first time, its top executive said. Cooperative-owned Senalia is the largest grain operator at the northern French port of Rouen, the main export hub in the European Union's leading grain-producing country.

It has been investing in expanding vessel loading capacity at Rouen as France tries to keep pace with growing competition from cheaper grain suppliers such as Russia. But Senalia also wanted to secure a foothold overseas, including in Ukraine, which is part of the Black Sea exporting zone that has been increasing its market share worldwide, said Managing Director Gilles Kindelberger.

In Ukraine, Senalia was in early discussions with grain cooperatives about developing a mutually owned grain terminal at the mouth of the Dniepr river on the Black Sea coast, he told Reuters. "If we don't go there soon enough, all the spots will be taken," he said of Ukraine's grain export sector.

Copyright Reuters, 2019