October 31, 2010

Ukrainian government to release grain held in ports

The Ukrainian government has agreed to release grain already loaded on boats currently held in ports after limits on grain exports were introduced earlier this month, according to the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation.

The Confederation said that the government had agreed on Thursday (Oct 28) to release all loaded boats currently held in ports and allow all partially-loaded boats to complete their loading and depart.

"This decision by the government will be received positively by grain market participants, as it gives them the possibility to minimize the losses of agricultural companies," said Leonid Kozachenko, president of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation.

Earlier this month, the government had passed a resolution limiting grain exports to 2.7 million tonnes, including two million tonnes of corn and 500,000 tonnes of wheat. It announced on Wednesday (Oct 27) that it planned to sell grain export quotas at auctions.

Ukraine's Economy Ministry said last week that it would receive applications for export licenses from October 20 to November 3.

The Ukrainian Grain Association has complained that boats loaded with grain for export have not been allowed to depart.