Ukraine’s corn harvest largely exceeds domestic consumption and the country did not restrict the shipments in previous seasons.
“The maximum volume of exports is not more than 29.3 million tonnes,” APK-Inform quoted a government proposal to the previously signed memorandum with traders.
The ministry was unavailable for comment.
Ukraine harvested nearly 36 million tonnes of corn in 2019 and APK-Inform forecast its exports would total 28.5 million tonnes in the 2019/20 season.
It has already exported 25.2 million tonnes of the commodity, 2.7 million tonnes more than this time last season.
The consultancy said earlier on Friday that Ukrainian corn export prices fell over the past week on declining demand from exporters and an expected decrease in biofuel production.
Export bid prices for Ukrainian corn fell to $172-176 per tonne FOB Black Sea as of April 23, from $178-183 per tonne as of the middle of last week, the consultancy said.
Ukraine, one of world’s top grain exporters, this month said it was ready to ban wheat exports if sales exceed limits agreed with traders.
The disruptions to supply chains caused by the new coronavirus have prompted neighbouring Romania to ban cereal exports to non-European Union destinations.
Another neighbour, Russia, has also limited grain exports and sold grain from its stockpile to increase supply to its flour millers and bakers. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan)
REFS
Published on agriculture.com
UPDATE 1-UKRAINE CONSIDERS LIMITING CORN EXPORTS IN 2019/20 SEASON – CONSULTANCY