December 4, 2008
Ukraine July-November grain exports reach 10.6 million tonnes
Ukraine exported 10.6 million tonnes of grain in July to November, the first five months of the current marketing year, the agriculture ministry reported Wednesday (December 3).
The ministry said the pace of export had been falling since September, when 2.8 million tonnes was exported, to 2.2 million tonnes in October and 1.8 million tonnes in November. In December grain export is not expected to exceed 1.8 million tonnes.
The ministry said it expected an increase in grain exports in February as grain stocks in the main grain exporting countries were likely to shrink, while demand on the world market would increase.
Total grain export in the 2008-2009 marketing year is expected to be about 23 million tonnes.
In the 2007-2008 marketing year Ukraine only exported 3.6 million tonnes of grain because of the low harvest and restrictions on exports imposed by the government.
The ministry expects grain harvest this year to be 51 million tonnes in clean weight compared with 29.3 million tonnes in 2007.
