April 18, 2011

Ukraine forecasts increase in grain exports

Ukraine predicts a rise in grain export volumes to 23.6 million tonnes from last year's 11 million tonnes, due to an increase in this year's grain harvest and high stocks, said analyst UkrAgroConsult on Friday (Apr 15).

UkrAgroConsult, which previously forecast the export of 21.51 million tonnes next season, predicted higher exports of wheat and corn but expected a smaller export volume of barley.

Serhiy Feofilov, director of the Kiev-based UkrAgroConsult, told an international grain conference on Thursday (Apr 14) that Ukraine, which harvested 39.2 million tonnes of grain in 2010, could harvest 44-45 million tonnes of grain in 2011.

The consultancy also said that a small export volume this season would add up to three million tonnes of grain to the ending stocks. Ukraine had in stocks about 3.3 million tonnes of grain at the beginning of 2010/11 season and about 3.2 million a season earlier.

Ukraine harvested 46 million tonnes of grain in 2009 and exported 21.5 million tonnes in the 2009/10 season that made the country the world's top exporter of barley and a major exporter of corn and wheat.

Ukraine consumes only about 26 million tonnes of grain per season, but in October the government imposed grain export quotas in a bid to curb rises in domestic bread prices after a fall in grain harvest and high global grain prices.