January 25, 2013

Ukraine's agricultural exports increased by 40% in 2012

According to the Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Mykola Prysyazhnyuk, Ukraine increased its agricultural exports by almost 40% in 2012, reaching US$17 billion.

Last year, Ukraine's grain harvest fell by approximately 19% to 46.2 million tonnes of grain, compared to the record 56.7 million tonnes set in 2011. However, according to ProAgro, the country's grain exports has already risen to 15.26 million tonnes this season, compared to the 10.18 million tonnes set in the same period last year.  Additionally, Ukraine's corn harvest fell to 20.92 million tonnes, a decrease of 8.4 per cent from 2011.

Despite harvests being down from last year, the US. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported on its website that it was upgrading its wheat forecast for Ukraine by 200,000 tonnes to a total of 6.2 million tonnes.

Speaking to Ukrainian newspaper UKRINFORM, Andriy Hordiychuk, chairman of the board of Svarog West Group, stated that he expects Ukraine to become a global economy leader in exports in the next 3-5 years.

"The market is being transformed and will be transformed more in this direction. The majority of Ukrainian agricultural companies are still focused on grain exports. Much more interesting is grain processing and production of meat, milk and other products and their subsequent export."