Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said he is sure that restrictions on grain exports will no longer be imposed. The head of government announced this at a meeting with Deputy Assistance Secretary at the U.S. Treasury Christopher Smart.

Azarov said that the government had been obliged to resort to the protection of the domestic food market due to the abnormal drought in Ukraine in 2010 and a shortage of grain in the world. "This helped us keep the domestic price of grain at many times lower than in the EU countries," he said.

Azarov noted the authorities had taken measures to ensure the stable and effective work of the agricultural complex, in particular, on the formation of state grain reserves.

"We have good carry-over stocks, and we have large state reserves - 1.6 million tons, and we have already started forward purchases for a new harvest," the prime minister said.

Azarov also noted the successful holding of the autumn and spring sowing campaigns in Ukraine according to schedule, as well as the proper fertilizing of crops, and expressed hope for a good harvest in 2011.

As UKRINFORM reported, on March 30, 2011, the Cabinet of Ministers extended grain export quotas until July 1 and increased maize export quotas by two million tons.

On December 8, 2010, the Cabinet of Ministers extended grain export quotas until the end of March 2011. The government also decided to increase the wheat export quota by 500,000 tons and the maize export quota by one million tons.

Earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced until December 31, 2010 the quotas on the export of 500,000 tons of wheat and a mixture of wheat and rye (meslin), two million tons of maize, 200,000 tons of barley, 1,000 tons of rye and 1,000 tons of buckwheat.

UKRINFORM