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The Russian, Ukrainian and Kazakhstan agriculture ministers have proposed forming what they called a Black Sea grain pool for a speedier conquest of the global grain market. St.Petersburg, June 8 (Interfax) - The Russian, Ukrainian and Kazakhstan agriculture ministers have proposed forming what they called a Black Sea grain pool for a speedier conquest of the global grain market.

"No time can be wasted. The market positions our countries have conquered in recent years, must be backed by serious investment in infrastructure, so a solid groundwork could be built to make grain from the Black Sea region competitive in the long-term perspective," Russian Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik said at the world grain forum in St.Petersburg on Sunday.

Over the past years, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine's export policies have become more aggressive, causing the traditional exporter-countries' share on the world grain market to shrink. The United States' share in world trade contracted from 28% in 2008 to 20% in 2009, Canada's from 17% to 14% and Australia's from 16% to 13%, she said.

By contrast, the share of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan has grown from 6% to 24% since 2000. Russia has demonstrated the largest growth - from 1% to 14%. Ukraine's share has increased from 1% to 5% and Kazakhstan's share from 4% to 5%.

A pool of grain exporting countries in the Black Sea region will help avoid price volatility on the global grain market and the dependence of prices on speculative factors, and create a mechanism of joint international management of grain resources, the Russian agriculture minister said. "This precedent could mark the first step to form a global grain fund and to create a prototype of a managerial system for the food reserves," she said.

A pool will also help optimize investment in grain infrastructure, orientated to grain supplies to the member-countries' domestic markets and abroad, Skrynnik said. "This is especially important amid the current global financial crisis," she said.

Among the main goals of the United Grain Company, formed in Russia, is that of upgrading the grain infrastructure and building new capacities, first of all export capacities, she said. "On our part, we are prepared to create an 'infrastructure corridor,' using the UGC capacities in an effort to combine our countries' grain exporting efforts," the minister said.

A pool would make the grain, produced in these three countries, more competitive, and the grain market more efficient and transparent, Skrynnik said.