A formidable competitor: UKRAINE INCREASING GRAIN EXPORT SALES

摘要

long recognized as as a major wheat and barley producer, Ukraine is evolving into an important source of corn and soybeans and a "formidable competitor" for regional export sales, according to Ukrainian sources and grain industry experts. Ukrainian officials suggest their country will be the seventh largest grain exporter in the world in 2012-13, according to the president of the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA), Volodymyr Klymenko. The UGA predicts exports will total more than 22 million metric tonnes (mmt), an estimate supported by projections made by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). At least four mmt will go to China as part of a 2012 agreement to supply up to six mmt of grain to China annually for a 15-year period.