Economy ministry assures Ukraine has enough wheat

Ukraine's Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture says the domestic market is provided with wheat in full, while export contracts are carried out in line with a memorandum of understanding earlier concluded between the ministry and grain exporters.

"The domestic market is provided with wheat in full and export contracts are carried out in accordance with the memorandum," the ministry's press service said on April 8.

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In particular, wheat production in Ukraine in 2019 was 28.3 million tonnes, whereas domestic consumption is projected at 8.2 million tonnes (29%).

At the same time, wheat exports as of April 6, 2020, reached 17.9 million tonnes from the planned 20.2 million tonnes, that is, another 2.3 million tonnes of wheat remain available at stock.

Moreover, wheat exports were slowing down: average daily export shipments were 44,000 tonnes in March and 14,000 tonnes in April, including 7,000 tonnes on April 6 along.

"The above mentioned factors make it possible to provide the domestic market with wheat and fulfill existing contracts," the ministry summed up.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the all-Ukrainian association of bakers and millers, Millers of Ukraine Union, warned of possible price hikes for bread and bakery products (by 20%) due to growing prices of wheat against the backdrop of the global coronavirus epidemic.

Following that, the State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine (SFGCU) and PJSC Agrarian Fund decided to ship 160,000 tonnes of wheat for processing to stabilize flour prices in Ukraine.

The government earlier said it had no plans to impose limits on exports of grain, sunflower oil, poultry, and other export staples during the coronavirus quarantine.