Canada and UN to provide $40 mln to cover 2.4 mln tonnes of grain storage in Ukraine - ministry

MOSCOW. Aug 3 (Interfax) - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a new $40 million Canada-funded project to further address grain storage shortages in Ukraine, an initiative that will allow storage of an additional 2.4 million tonnes of grain between 2022-2023 along with related technical support and equipment.

The Ukrainian media said on Wednesday, citing the website of Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, that this project will complement the support of $17 million recently provided by the Japanese government to cover 1 million tonnes of grain storage.

Thanks to the funding provided by the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FAO will deliver temporary and fixed grain storage solutions, including polyethylene grain sleeves, loading and unloading machinery, and longer-term modular storage units, to 15 regions of Ukraine, it said. FAO will also procure up to $2 million worth of laboratory equipment to support six strategic laboratories in surveillance for animal diseases, the ministry said.

This season, Ukraine is expecting to harvest up to 51.1 million tonnes of cereal, the ministry said. Out of a total storage capacity of 75 million tonnes, 30% remain filled with 22 million tonnes of last year's harvest awaiting export, the ministry said.

The Grain Storage Support Strategy, recently developed by FAO, aims to support Ukraine to help cover 4.07 million tonnes, or 25%, of the total estimated national storage deficit of 16 million tons in 2022-2023, the ministry said. The strategy also includes the support of Ukraine's State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection by strengthening government capacity for food commodity testing and certifications necessary for export at border facilities.