The Ukrainian government is taking certain measures to stabilize the domestic grain market, taking into account the most pessimistic forecasts as for the 2012 harvest.
Government believes that there won’t be reasons for raising bread prices this year, according to the department for information and communications with the public at the secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers.
"To level the situation with the expected low yield of winter crops in advance, on November 17, 2011 the Economic Development and Trade Ministry at a meeting of the interdepartmental ad hoc group decided to increase wheat carry-over stocks by 3 million tonnes, to 5.4 million tonnes. Thus, the carry-over stocks of all grains could reach 9.1 million tonnes," reads the statement.
Consequently, “the filling of the domestic wheat market in the 2012/2013 marketing year will be the basis for the formation of a stable price situation on it," according to the statement.
The department said, with reference to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, that in the current marketing year grain production is estimated at 56.4 million tonnes, including 22.4 million tonnes of wheat, 13.5 million tonnes of which is food wheat.
"Grain supply on the domestic market is expected to exceed 62 million tonnes, while the domestic grain consumption is 26.7 million tonnes," reads the statement.
The report notes that due to adverse weather conditions winter crops might be damaged on 2 million hectares. In particular, the winter wheat harvest in 2012 could amount to 12-16 million tonnes, including 6-8 million tonnes of bread wheat.
"But even under such conditions, wheat stocks in 2012 will be sufficient to meet the domestic needs. There could be even grain surplus that will be exported," notes the report.
