Ukraine, a major global exporter of grain and vegetable oils, does not plan to restrict its food exports, the deputy economy minister in charge of agriculture said on Thursday.
The spread of the novel coronavirus has made some nations look at imposing restrictions. Neighbouring Russia is considering limiting sunseed sales. "At this moment, no restrictions on food exports are planned," Taras Vysotskiy told Reuters.
The stance of Ukraine, which has friendly ties with the European Union, is in tune with the demands of the bloc's leading farm association, which has told EU countries to keep its single market open if it wants to guarantee food supplies for its consumers.
Ukraine has increased its grain exports by more than 20% to around 45 million tonnes for the 2019/20 July-June season. It plans to export a record 52-55 million tonnes of grain this season, Vysotskiy told Reuters earlier this month.
APK-Inform agriculture consultancy this week said Ukraine, the world's top exporter of sunflower oil, has increased its seaborne exports of the commodity by around 72.2% in the 2019-20 season.
Seaport exports of sunflower oil have totalled 2.878 million tonnes so far in the 2019-20 season, which runs from August to September, up from 1.671 million tonnes in the same period in 2018-19 season, the consultancy said.
Ukraine, however, expects a decrease in its grain harvest this year because of unfavourable weather during the autumn sowing. The national research institute the IAE said this month that Ukraine's grain harvest was likely to fall by 10.3% from 2019 levels to 67.4 million tonnes from a record 75 million tonnes in 2019.
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