September 19, 2012

Ukraine to export two million tonnes grain this month

Up from 1.8 million tonnes in August, Ukraine will export about two million tonnes of grain this month.

Volodymyr Klymenko, the head of Ukrainian grain traders' union UZA, said on Tuesday (Sep 18) that wheat would dominate the exports this month.

Ukraine exported 1.39 million tonnes of grain, including 826,300 tonnes of wheat in September 1-17, according to data provided by the Agriculture Ministry. In August, Ukraine exported 931,300 tonnes of wheat.

Klymenko said uncertainty with wheat export rules in the second half of this season prompted traders to accelerate wheat shipments.

The ministry and traders have agreed that exports could total no more 19.4 million tonnes this season, which runs from July-June. The volume included four million tonnes of wheat, 12.4 million tonnes of corn and three million tonnes of barley.

Traders have said the government may limit wheat exports in early 2013 in a bid to prevent a jump in domestic grain prices after the wheat harvest declined this year. They said more than a half of the agreed wheat export volumes had already been exported.

Klymenko said that traders were likely to focus their activity on corn and barley, but noted that the official forecast for barley exports was too optimistic.

"We have exported about a million tonnes and it will be good if we find a million more to export," he told reporters.

Ukraine exported 22.8 million tonnes of grain in 2011-12, including 2.45 million tonnes of barley.