April 5, 2011

Ukraine's March grain exports up 9%

Grain exports from Ukrainian sea ports increased by about 9% to 678,050 tonnes in March compared with February, with corn making up most of the export volume, said ProAgro agriculture consultancy on Monday (April 4).

Ukraine operates more than 20 seaports, mostly on the Black Sea.

Ukraine exported 486,490 tonnes of corn, 162,920 tonnes of wheat and 28,640 tonnes of other cereals in March, said ProAgro, quoting data from ports.

ProAgro said about half of the export volume had been sent abroad from the port of Yuzhny near Odessa. Ukraine exported its corn mostly to Iran, Israel and Tunisia, while Ukrainian wheat is mostly exported to Turkey and Georgia, said ProAgro.

Ukraine's grain harvest fell to 39.2 million tonnes in 2010 from 46 million in 2009 after a severe drought. The government has said the harvest could rise to at least 42 million tonnes this year.