August 11, 2009
Ukraine could yield 70 million tonnes of grain in next few years
Ukraine has the prospect to reach 70 million tonnes of grain gross yield in the next few years, according to Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Ukraine has everything it needs to reach that level of production, said the prime minister.
For that, Ukraine has to take advanced technologies of land cultivation and grain storage, and the government has a strategy of choosing the best farm producers to combine their experience and knowledge to spread it nationwide, Tymoshenko said.
Tymoshenko also said the government intends to allow the state sector to develop the grain sector. She said the Agrarian Fund should cooperate with the state-run JSC Khlib Ukrainy (Ukraine's Bread) controlling 12 percent of all elevator facilities in the country.
Ukraine's elevator capacities would be increased by three million tonnes by year end through raising loans from Canadian and Japanese finance institutions.
Tymoshenko explained they already have the relevant accords and draft contracts.
Ukraine's aims to reform the elevator sector by enlarging its capacity by 10 million tonnes and liquidating a monopoly in the sector, Tymoshenko said, adding that the country is now building elevator capacities of two million tonnes of grain at the expense of investors.
Ukraine is currently operating 24,600 elevators with total capacity of 55 million tonnes of grain, of which only capacities at 30 million tonnes are certified and capacities at 15 million tonnes meet international standards.
