Ukraine's Agrarian Fund will buy 1.245 million tonnes of grain from the 2011 harvest for the state intervention fund, according to a government resolution published on Monday. The volume includes 1.05 million tonnes of wheat, 90,000 tonnes of rye, 40,000 tonnes of barley, 30,000 tonnes of maize and 35,280 tonnes of buckwheat.
The government gave no details of last year's purchases. The government last month ordered the finance ministry to sell 5.0 billion hryvnias ($631 million) worth of T-bills to finance purchases of grain for state stocks in 2011. The document said the bonds, with maturities of up to 5 years, would be issued and sold in 2011. Farm Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk last month said that the first parcels of grain could be bought in the near future and that large grain stocks could help the government to avoid imposing grain export curbs next season. The government has said it needs to collect about 3 million tonnes of grain in state-operated reserves to keep domestic grain and bread prices under control.