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Ukrainian government to halt wheat exports if agreed volumes are exceeded

Ukraine will halt wheat exports if the volume of shipments goes beyond the 16.2 million metric lots agreed with traders and manufacturers for the entire 2024/25 season, the very first deputy farm minister said on Wednesday.

Previously this month, the farming ministry agreed with traders and agriculture associations to limit wheat exports in the 2024/25 July-June season to 16.2 million metric lots.

The government and traders annually sign a memorandum under which officials guarantee to keep the existing regards to trade and to not limit exports within the agreed volume, while traders undertake not to exceed this volume.

The memorandum clearly specifies that if this level is reached, the government has the alternative of stopping exports, the ministry priced estimate Taras Vysotskiy, the very first deputy farm minister, as saying.

Farm minister Vitaliy Koval said late on Tuesday that around 20% of the agreed volume had already left the country.

Ukraine exported 18.3 million lots of wheat in 2023/24, having big ending stocks from previous harvests left in silos with crucial Black Sea ports closed after Russia's invasion.

Ministry information showed Ukraine had actually exported 8.94 million heaps of grain as of Sept. 18, including practically 5 million tons of wheat.

Ukrainian farmers have actually finished the 2024 wheat harvest, threshing 21.8 million tons - almost the very same volume as in 2023 - but millers stated this month the quality of the Ukrainian 2024 wheat crop was low and it triggered them to look for curbs on milling wheat exports to prevent a jump in bread costs.

Brokers, millers, traders and ministry authorities expect the share of milling wheat to be between 30% and 45%, and millers advised the ministry to permit the export of no greater than 4.8 million lots of milling wheat this season.

The ministry data revealed that milling wheat controlled the exports in the first two month of the existing season.

(source: Reuters)