Existent channels insufficient for Ukrainian agrarian exports - Kiev

MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) - Ukraine has exported about 700,000 tonnes of grain, mostly to Europe and Africa, since the opening of the temporary maritime corridor, Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Minister Nikolai Solsky said at a meeting of the European Union's Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Luxembourg.

"We opened a temporary corridor in the Black Sea in August. [...] Over the period of the new corridor's operation, 38 ships have arrived in ports and over 30 have departed, but, of course, not all of them are carrying grain. Still, we have been able to transport about 700,000 tonnes of grain. The bulk of our products is now exported by the Danube, via Romania. We sincerely appreciate the understanding, support and cooperation of the Romanian colleagues," Ukrainian media cited Solsky's statement released by the press service for the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry.

About 2.3 million tonnes of agricultural products were exported through Danube ports in September, and the volume was a bit larger, 2.4 million tonnes, in August. In all, exports stood at 3.6 million tonnes in September. This is not enough for transporting the entire amount of agricultural exports, he said.

"We have to export about 6 million tonnes per month to preserve our agriculture as a key economic sector. The only way to ensure this level of transportation is by restoring full-scale operation of the deep-water ports of Greater Odessa. We observe a trend of the increasing number of outbound ships in our ports. Hopefully, it will persist," Solsky said.

The European Commission's restrictions on certain types of Ukrainian agricultural products did not help stabilize the prices despite the expectations of certain neighboring countries, and the prices continued to decrease, he said.

"This is happening due to numerous factors, such as large harvests in Brazil and Australia. Obviously, Ukrainian grain does not play the key role in decreasing prices," Solsky said.

In order to ensure uninterrupted exports, Ukraine has developed a mechanism for licensing certain types of agricultural products, the export of which has raised the most questions, Solsky said. The procedure provides for the issuance of a license from the Ukrainian government within 30 days from the date of receipt of the export application.

Nowadays, Ukraine informs the European Commission and the respective country about the export application received. No license is issued for exports from Ukraine without authorization by this country. Solsky invited countries, which remained undecided, to join this cooperation format.