March 14 2003, 16:09 APK-Inform

Ukraine's AgMin rounding off processing of grain stocks declarations

Ukraine's Minister of Agrarian Policy Serhiy Ryzhuk said at a briefing in the ministry on March 14 that having processed 95 percent of grain stocks declaration, the ministry had come to a conclusion that grain stocks in the country currently constituted 4.6 million tonnes. Stocks of milling wheat are 2.6 million tonnes.

According to Ukrainian laws, owners of grain must provide declarations to the state statistical bodies of the amounts of grain they have in store.

"We have enough grain, but it's a close fit", the minister said. "Assuming that use of milling wheat till the new crop may constitute 2.2 to 2.3 million tonnes, the milling grain for domestic consumption must last till the end of the season", he said.

The minister said that the present situation was caused by absence of single and well coordinated state export-import policy, underdeveloped state of market infrastructure in Ukraine, which prevented from efficient regulation of grain market.

According to State Statistics Committee, gross crop of wheat in Ukraine in 2002 constituted 20.5 million tonnes. The share of milling wheat in this amount, according to Ryzhuk, was 54 to 64 percent.