You're reading: State Food-Grain Corporation plans to start supplying corn to China in early Oct

Public joint-stock company State Food-Grain Corporation plans to send the first batches of corn to China under a contract signed with Export-Import Bank of China in early October 2013.

"The first Panamax [tankers] with corn as far as the batches are formed will be shipped in early October," Deputy Board Chairman Robert Brovdi said in an interview with the Business TV channel.

He noted that in the 2013/14 agricultural year (July-June), under a contract signed for 15 years, State Food-Grain Corporation will supply four million tonnes of grain to China. Next year the volume of next supplies will be increased to six million tonnes.

Brovdi said that in the near term Ukraine will be able to export soybeans and barley to China: it is expected that by late September the sides will sign a biosecurity protocol on supply of the said crops.

“The Chinese commission has studied the whole production cycle in details, the state of the grain stored and harvested, the whole logistics chain, starting from harvesting and storage and ending shipments, and in the near term, we hope that this month, the biosecurity protocol on supply of the said crops to China will be signed by the permit organizations of the two states,” he said.

Currently State Food-Grain Corporation has bought some 100,000 tonnes of soybeans under forward contracts and plans to buy it on the sport market. This season the corporation plans to export 250,000-300,000 tonnes of soybeans, including to China.

As reported, the State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine in late 2012 received the first tranche of $1.5 billion from the Export-Import Bank of China. It was planned that the funds would be used to carry out spot and forward purchases of four million tonnes of grain, which will be shipped to China. Another $1.5 billion will be allocated later by China.

China National Machinery Industry Complete Engineering Corporation (CMCEC) is to be the operator in China under a contract signed for a period of 15 years.