Grain exports through Ukrainian Black Sea ports totalled 932,900 tonnes in March 1-15, the UkrAgroConsult agriculture consultancy said on Tuesday. The consultancy quoted data from ports as showing that wheat exports had totalled 437,800 tonnes, barley 147,900 tonnes and maize 344,300 tonnes. It said Ukraine exported 17.6 million tonnes of various grains so far this season.
The Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation (UAC), which unites leading agriculture producers and traders, this week said grain exports were likely to exceed 2.0 million tonnes in March 2009 compared with 2.19 million in February and 1.54 million in January.
Ukraine harvested a record 53.3 million tonnes of grain in 2008 against 29.3 million in 2007. The farm ministry has forecast exports at 25.0-25.5 million tonnes in the 2008/09 season compared with 4 million in 2007/08, when grain was subject to export restrictions. According to data by UkrAgroConsult, grain exports had totalled 16.68 million tonnes from July 2008 to February 2009.