As of October 13, Ukraine had harvested 46.13 million tonnes of grain, up nearly 70 percent on-year, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.

Ukraine has harvested grain and legumes in 13.6 million hectares or 88 percent of planted areas, with average yield per hectare marking a significant increase, the ministry said.

The corn harvest totalled 3.25 million tonnes from 770,000 hectares or 30 percent of planted areas.

Farmers also harvested 4.27 million tonnes of sunseed, 246,300 tonnes of soy, 263,000 tonnes of buckwheat, 229,600 tonnes of millet and 51,500 tonnes of rice.

Ukrainian farmers continue to sow their winter crops. To date, farmers have sown 6.26 million hectares or 86 percent of planned acreage, including 1.28 hectares of winter rapeseed. Sown areas for winter grains total 6.39 million hectares or 86 percent of planned acreage, including 5.39 million hectares of winter wheat.

In addition, the Ukrainian government has set an interest rate of 8.7 percent for budgetary loans to domestic farmers for grain security. The Agrarian Fund will take feed barley and corn as mortgage to support domestic feed grain prices.

Within the framework of the mortgage purchases, the Agrarian Fund pays 60 percent of the grain cost to farmers when grain is delivered to the Fund's storage.

"If a farmer finds a buyer with better price, the farmer will be able to take back his grain before April 31, 2009 and sell it at a better price," said Yuriy Melnyk, Ukraine's Agriculture Minister.

The Agrarian Fund intends to purchase about 1 million tonnes of feed barley and corn to support feed prices, according to the ministry.