Ukraine to possibly increase grain export quotas

The Government of Ukraine will possibly increase quotas for grain exports by 1 mln tonnes – for wheat, and by 1.7 mln tonnes – for maize, and then cancel the quotas imposition after March 2011, declared Nikholay Prysiazhnyuk, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, on January 26.

To date, the Ministry of Economy works out the project of the future Decree, which will be completely formed in February or till the end of March 2011. The Minister of Agrarian Policy added that his department will try to cancel quotas, due to approaching of the new harvesting campaign beginning and coming of new grains on the market.

Ukraine imposed grains export quotas till March 31, 2011. The Russian Federation has existing grain export ban from August 15, 2010, till July 1, 2011.

Grains export quotas, imposed by the Government of Ukraine in the beginning of October 2010 till December 31, 2010, were prolonged till March 31, 2011. At the same time, the total volume was increased by 1.5 mln tonnes – till the level of 4.2 mln tonnes. Maize export quota was increased from 2 to 3 mln tonnes, wheat – from 0.5 till 1 mln tonnes.

Ukraine: Ministry of Agrarian Policy forecasts grain exports at the level of 13 mln tonnes

On January 27, Nikholay Prysiazhnyuk, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, declared that in the current marketing year Ukraine will supply nearly 13 mln tonnes of grains on foreign markets.

According to him, Ukraine will export directly the same volume of grains, which is expected by the world organizations, and domestic statistic estimations.

Vladimir Klimenko, the President of the Ukrainian Grain Association, informed that from the beginning of the current MY Ukraine exported nearly 7 mln tonnes of grains, including 0.3 mln tonnes in 2011 only. According to him, the low export indices in the beginning of 2011 are caused by the fact that the Government started issuing export licenses for additional quota volumes, given for the period of January 1 – March 31, just recently.

Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan to come back to grain pool creation idea

The Russian Federation, Ukraine and Kazakhstan may come back to the idea of creation of the grain pool, in order to cheapen grain delivery to the countries-buyers.

At first, the idea was announced on the World Grain Forum in St.Petersburg in June 2009. However, the reporting countries did not arrange real actions after that.

Nikholay Prysiazhnyuk, the Head of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine, returned to the idea, while answering the presentation of Saktash Hasenov, the Deputy Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, during the Forum “Agriculture and Food industry development in the East Europe and Central Asia”, which was within the International exhibition “Green week 2011” on January 21, in Berlin.

S.Hasenov complained that Kazakhstan, being one of the largest grains suppliers, wheat first of all, feels dependence upon Ukraine and Russia, due to the necessity to use their ports for grain supplies.

Due to the fact, exporters had to expand own export geography and start to supply grains to other directions, in particular to the South-East Asia and Iran. In order to realize the project, the country started building new railway through Uzbekistan, at the border with China the country will build large grains terminal, and started also realization of other projects. According to him, China, the Republic of Korea face the interest in Kazakh grains.

N.Prysiazhnyuk noted that due to the fact, it is reasonably for three countries – Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan – to found the grain pool, in order to decrease logistics costs. Then there will be the opportunity to make replacement within the country and have cheap logistics, in order to sell cheap grains to countries-buyers.

While talking about the prospects of participating of Ukraine in the Customs Union, N.Prysiazhnyuk noted that the Government does not consider the issue at all.

As it was previously announced, to date there is active grain export ban in Russia (till July 1, 2011), and Ukraine imposed grain export quotas till March 31, 2011.