Ukrainian Grain Association opposes the extension of quotas for grain exports until June 30, and considers it necessary that Ukraine sell before the end of the marketing year cereal surpluses of around 4 million tons, the association president, Volodymyr Klymenko, said.

"We oppose the extension of quotas, and we believe that the surplus of grain must be exported, thereby giving farmers the opportunity to earn money for seed and to free grain elevators for the future harvest," the UGA president said.

He believes that Ukraine has the opportunity before the end of the current marketing year (July 2010 - June 2011) to supply to foreign markets another 1.5 million tons of wheat and 2.5 million tons of corn. According to him, since the beginning of the MY the country has already exported about 3 million tons of wheat with an export opportunity of 4.5 million tons, and nearly 2.9 million tons of corn with an opportunity of 5.5 million tons.

"We need to sell the remains of grain, and only then we can talk about export restraint," the UGA president said.

The Cabinet extended quotas on grain exports until July 1 this year. The volume of quotas increased by 2 million tons of corn.

December 8, 2010, the Cabinet extended quotas for the export of grain until the end of March 2011. The government's decision increased quota for the export of wheat by 500 thousand tons and corn by 1 million tons.

The Cabinet, for the period until December 31, 2010, imposed quotas on exports of wheat and a mixture of wheat and rye (meslin) in the volume of 500 thousand tons, corn 2 million tons, barley 200 thousand tons, rye and buckwheat 1 thousand tons each.

UKRINFORM