Ukraine's Simplified Export Procedures Benefit Global Grain Market - OECD Expert

KYIV, Ukraine, August 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --



New export rules in Ukraine, which include customs procedures on grain export, are a good idea, reckons Ken Ash, Director of the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate, as quoted by btb.tv. In his opinion, when governments introduce more predictable, consistent and transparent customs procedures, grain cost decreases. Another factor helping stabilize global grain market this year is the record crop in Ukraine and several other countries, he said.

Following the introduction of the new customs rules, phytosanitary and radiological certification is the only documentation Ukrainian grain exporters are now required to submit, informed sector analyst Ruslan Shvets, Head of AgroNews, in his comment for latifundist.com. "The government has introduced all the necessary measures for free and unhindered grain export," said Shvets.

New customs procedures in Ukraine were introduced by the 2012 Customs Code. The Code cut customs paperwork and reduced maximum duration time of procedures from 24 to 4 hours. Additionally, it is now possible to pick any customs office to apply to.

New customs procedures helped intensify grain and made it nearly impossible for the customs authorities to engage in corruption, reckoned Shvets. As a result, since the marketing year began grain export increased by 24 percent. Grain logistics prices in the industry may also drop, affecting the profits received by the traders and nation's economy. Notably, in the current marketing year Ukraine plans to export the record 28 million tons of grain.

Ukraine expects to make it to the world's top five grain exporters this year, stated the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Prysyazhnyuk on August 15, 2013. Ukrainian export ambition is to become the second largest grain exporter in the world following the USA, he said. The Eastern European country aims for a 10 percent share of the global grain market, which is forecast to reach 286 million tons in 2013.

In 2013, Ukraine could become third largest corn exporter, fourth barley exporter, and sixth wheat exporter. Ukraine's grain trade expansion has now reached Asia. Namely, the certification of Ukrainian wheat, barley, and soy by the Chinese authorities is currently under works.

Interestingly, in June 2013, Prysyazhnyuk stated that the USA planned to look into the possibility of importing Ukrainian grain.