January 12, 2011

Ukraine exports nearly seven million tonnes grain in 2010-11

Ukraine has exported 6.7 million tonnes of grain in the 2010/2011 marketing year (July 2010 to August 2011), stated Oleksandr Demydov, director of the Agrarian and Food Ministry's plant-growing markets department.

"To date, 6.7 million tonnes of grain has been exported," he said. He specified that the volume includes one million tonnes of corn.

Commenting on the quotation of grain exports in Ukraine, Oleksandr Demydov said exports are made under quotas issued before January 1, 2011. Documents are being issued for exports of grain under quotas defined before March 31, 2011, he said.

According to him, the agricultural products quotas commission continues to function. The commission checks whether companies possess claimed volumes of quotas.

Earlier, the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry said 5.9 million tonnes of grain was exported as of mid-December 2010.

On November 12, the agricultural products quotas commission distributed the quota for exportation of 500,000 tonnes of wheat, 200,000 tonnes of barley and 1.48 million tonnes of corn.

The Cabinet of Ministers introduced a grain export quota of 2.7 million tonnes by the end of 2010, including 500,000 tonnes of wheat, two million tonnes of corn, 200,000 tonnes of barley, and 1,000 tonnes of rye and buckwheat each.

On December 6, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine prolonged the quotation of grain exports until March 31, 2011. The Cabinet of Ministers also expanded the wheat export quota from 0.5 million tonnes to one million tonnes and the corn export quota from two million tonnes to three million tonnes.