KIEV, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s grain exports fell by around 40 percent month-on-month to 2.79 million tonnes in January, the Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday.
Ukraine, which harvested an all-time-high harvest of 62.9 million tonnes in 2013, exported 21.9 million tonnes of grain in the first seven months of the 2013/14 season which runs from July to June.
Last month, the former Soviet republic reduced exports of wheat by 77 percent to 150,000 tonnes, according to ministry data. Maize exports fell 35 percent to 2.5 million tonnes.
European traders last month said that cold weather in Ukraine was causing maize delivery problems and prompting many buyers to turn to rival exporters, including those in the United States and Canada.
The ministry has confirmed ‘difficulties’ in sea ports, but gave no more details.
