Black Sea states may export 49 mln T grain in 09/10
(c) 2009 Reuters Limited
* Total Black Sea 2009/10 exports seen at up to 49 mln T
* Russia, Ukraine grain crops down on year, Kazakhstan up
MOSCOW, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Leading Black Sea producers, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, may ship to the world markets up to 49 million tonnes of grain in the current 2009/10 crop year, down from 54 million in the previous season, officials said.
Top regional producer Russia, which is finishing this year's harvesting campaign, officially estimates its grain crop in 2009 to be up to 93 million tonnes, although analysts believe the crop may be higher.
This, with the stocks, carried over from the previous bumper crop of 108 million tonnes leaves the country with an exportable surplus of 20 million tonnes, the Agriculture Ministry has said. [ID:nLN403777]
"We have already harvested 101 million tonnes of grain by bunker weight, and the crop by clean weight (after cleaning and drying) may be at least 7-8 percent lower," Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik told reporters on Monday.
The Institute for Agricultural Market studies said on Monday, from the start of the 2008/09 season in July to the middle of October, Russian grain exports were estimated to have declined to 7 million tonnes from 7.5 million year ago. [ID:nL2278928]
Wheat accounts for the bulk of Russian grain exports.
UKRAINE CROP DOWN, EXPORTS SEEN EQUAL TO RUSSIA
Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Yuri Melnyk said last week the ministry had increased its 2009/10 grain export forecast to 20 million tonnes from the previous estimate of 16-17 million.
Ukraine exported about 25 million tonnes of grain in 2008/09. Ukraine plans to harvest about 43 million tonnes of grain in 2009 compared with a record 53.3 million in 2008. [ID:nLT254027]
On Monday, Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation (UAC), said Ukraine exported 9.0 million tonnes of grain in the first four months of the 2009/10 season compared with 8.8 million in the same period in 2008/09 [ID:nL2332031]
Exports included 4.8 million tonnes of wheat, 3.0 million of barley and 800,000 tonnes of maize. In July-October 2008 Ukraine exported 4.4 million tonnes of wheat, 3.6 million of barley and 540,000 of maize.
KAZAKHSTAN CROP, EXPORTS SEEN UP ON YEAR
Kazakhstan has harvested 23 million tonnes of grain, mostly wheat, by bunker weight this season.
The government estimates this will convert into about 20 million tonnes by clean weight and will allow the Central Asian country to export 9 million tonnes, Kazakh Deputy Agriculture Minister Marat Orazayev said on Monday.
The Central Asian Republic produced 15.6 million tonnes of grain in 2008 and exported 6 million tonnes in the 2008/09 crop year.
Officials say Kazakhstan's traditional markets, Central Asian and Caspian nations, will buy 5-6 million tonnes of grain.
To help move the rest, the government has offered $33 million in shipping subsidies to those using Baltic and Black Sea ports and is also in talks with China to boost sales there.
The government has not said how much could go in those directions.
The Kazakh government is considering buying up to 6 million tonnes from farmers, Agriculture Minister Akylbek Kurishbayev said last month. [ID:nLS664902] (Reporting by Aleksandras Budrys in Moscow, Pavel Polityuk in Kiev, and Raushan Nurshayeva in Astana)
02.11.2009, 3073 просмотра.
