June 28, 2012
Ukraine to begin trial corn deliveries to China
As the parties shall agree on the certification of the product and quotas, Ukraine is ready to start trial shipments of corn to China later this year.
Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Prysiazhniuk said this to a correspondent of UKRINFORM in Beijing. He is on a visit in China now, among a delegation of the National Bank of Ukraine, holding talks with China Exim Bank, the Ministry of Agriculture of China and a number of companies on cooperation in the agricultural sector.
"Currently we are working with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture to coordinate quality requirements. We have already signed an agreement on phytosanitary cooperation, and a week later a working group will come here to negotiate the volume of quotas. Having completed the official procedures, we are ready to begin to deliver test batches of corn already in the 2012-13 marketing year, which starts in July," the Minister said.
China buys each year 5-7 million tonnes of corn, and its main supplier is the US. In this regard, Prysiazhniuk noted that, with its corn capacities, Ukraine could "completely replace any supplier."
"We have exported 14 million tonnes of corn this year alone. We have the ability and capacity for that. But we realise that there is a political aspect. In addition, the Chinese market has to become accustomed to our suppliers, our quality. We do not set ourselves the task of replacing anyone; we aim to enter (this market) and become a full partner," Prysiazhniuk said.