Agriculture Ministry: Ukraine not to ban wheat exports

The Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine sees no grounds for a ban on wheat exports, First Deputy Minister Ivan Bisiuk has said.

"At present we do not see any critical state with food grain, which means that the issue [of a ban on wheat exports] is not urgent," he told journalists in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Bisiuk noted that the issue of wheat export restrictions could be raised only "in the case of a critical shortage."

"Nobody prepared a resolution [of the government] on a ban on wheat exports - we were not talking about it. It was mentioned that in the case of a critical deficit we will take the necessary measures," he said.

Previously some media, with reference to Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Mykola Prysiazhniuk, reported that Ukraine intends from November 15 to ban wheat exports.

The Ukrainian Grain Association told Interfax-Ukraine that grain-trading companies operating in Ukraine are intending to stop wheat shipments from November 15 in accordance with the agreements between the market participants and the ministry.

As reported, the ministry and grain trading companies operating on the domestic market agreed that in the current MY not more than 4 million tonnes of wheat, 3 million tonnes of barley and 12.4 million tonnes of corn would be exported from the country. Later the estimation of possible wheat exports was increased to 5 million tonnes.