Creation of Black Sea grain pool still open to question - agriculture ministry
2012-09-14 11:24:23
Ukraine is not ready today to provide its ports to Russian exporters for the transit of grain. The Russian Federation will be able to sell it through the Black Sea corridor only in the case of developing port infrastructure at its own expense. Thus, the creation of a Black Sea grain pool between Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan is still in question.
This was stated by an agriculture ministry official, Serhiy Kvasha, Expert Agro reported.
"It is very difficult for us to export from Ukraine 3 million tons of grain monthly on our own, so we do not mind if Russian capital will develop the port infrastructure of Ukraine in the Black Sea," the source said.
The idea of creating a grain pool between Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan has been discussed for several years. According to official projections, this "grain OPEC", strengthening its export positions, could take up to 20% of the world market.
"However, such plans are unlikely to come true, because one of the key players in a virtual pool, Kazakhstan, has already redirected its export vector from the Black Sea region to the east," experts say.