November 16, 2006

Ukraine's PM apologises for grain export halt

Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych has furnished a public apology to local and foreign grain traders for the grain exports' restrictions enforced last month.

He apologised during an interview with "Gazeta 2000" weekly.

Restrictions on wheat export were imposed last month in order to prevent bread grain deficit within Ukraine. Further, the government

failed to explain to grain traders the logic behind its policy decisions.

Yanukovych recently admitted the methods used to contain grain exports were against the market principles though that was the only way to proceed under the given circumstances.

Incidentally, he defended the decision saying they were about to lose wheat adding had the government failed to take grain exports under its control and permitted unrestrained grain exports, the price of bread in the country would have doubled.

The PM in the interview assured the traders if the state's strategic grain reserve was filled to capacity, grain traders would be allowed to export all available surpluses.

Ukraine's grain traders estimate their losses at tens of millions of dollars owing to the earlier restrictions, totalling daily demurrage around US$35,000 per vessel.