Ukraine would raise grain exports

Ukraine, one of the world's leading grain exporters, will export 1.5 million to 1.7 million tonnes of grain this month, up from 1.2 million in July, Agriculture Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk said on Thursday. Prysyazhnyuk said the former Soviet republic hoped to add China to the list of its export destinations soon.
GPZKU, Ukraine's state-run grain corporation, has already sold 600,000 tonnes of grain since June to a Chinese state company for export to clients in the Middle East and other markets, he said, under a $1.5 billion deal signed last year. But shipments to China itself can start only after Ukrainian grain gets clearance from the Chinese authorities.
"I think we will get the certificate in a month or two," Prysyazhnyuk said. The Agriculture Ministry on Thursday raised its forecast for this year's grain harvest to an all-time high of 57.1 million tonnes from the previous estimate of 53-54 million tonnes.