December 23, 2010

Ukraine's grain export quotas may be abolished in early 2011

The government of Ukraine will consider the possibility of removing quotas on grain exports in early 2011, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Mykola Prysiazhniuk, said.

"There is a request from the Prime Minister that the quotas would be abolished between late January and early February," the minister said.

At the same time, he noted that the government will make this decision based on the availability of grain stocks in the country.

As reported, Ukraine imposed quotas on the export of 2.7 million tonnes of grain from October 19 to December 31. The quotas included 0.5 million tonnes of wheat, 2 million tonnes of corn and one thousand tonnes of buckwheat.

In early December, Prysiazhniuk said that the quotas had been extended to the first quarter of 2011, and for this period, the quota rose by 1.5 million tonnes, but an appropriate government document has not yet been made public.