January 22, 2009

Ukraine has raised its grain export outlook for 2008-09 marketing year by 8.7 percent or 2 million tonnes to 25 million tonnes.

The grain export forecast was reviewed because the data that was available as of January 1, 2009, showed that 53.3 million tonnes of grain was produced in 2008 and the total quantity of grain available was 60 million tonnes including the carryover from 2008, said Deputy Agricultural Policy Minister Yaroslav Hadzalo.

Hadzalo said data previously indicated that 51.3 million tonnes were produced, therefore the expected volume of exports was smaller.

Hadzalo also said Ukraine exported 13 million tonnes of grain in the first half of the current marketing year that will end June 2009, and nearly the same quantity should be exported during the second half of the year.

Corn accounts for nearly 40 percent of December's grain exports, said Hadzalo.

In addition, the introduction of high custom duties by the EU on grain imports has forced grain traders to focus on other countries, mainly on Turkey and the Arab states, according to Hadzalo.