KIEV - Ukraine will consider "necessary measures" over wheat exports if the country's wheat stocks fall to a critical level, First Deputy Agriculture Minister Ivan Bisyuk was quoted as saying on Wednesday. "We will apply the necessary measures if a critical shortage of food grain appears," Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted Bisyuk as saying. "At the present moment we see no critical state with food grains," he said. The ministry was unavailable to comment. Farm Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk last week said the former Soviet republic would ban wheat exports from November 15 due to a high pace of wheat exports and a fall in the harvest. The ministry has also said existing contracts can be fulfilled. According to the ministry's data, traders contracted about 5.4 million tonnes of wheat for exports this season. The volume includes two shipments by Egypt's GASC, the country's main state wheat buyer. The group bought 55,000 tonnes of Ukrainian origin wheat in mid-September as part of a larger tender purchase for shipment November 21-30. Another 55,000 tonne consignment was also purchased on September 11 by GASC as part of a 235,000 tonne deal for November 11-20 shipment. Egypt, the world's top wheat buyer, said on Tuesday it had not removed Ukraine from its list of potential wheat suppliers despite the upcoming export ban by the Black Sea country. Nomani Nomani, the vice chairman of GASC, said Ukraine's decision to stop wheat exports on November 15 was not considered to be official because it had not been confirmed by the country's prime minister. "The Farm Ministry has decided to avoid conflicts with international trade organisations and the export limits will likely be informal," said Mykola Vernytsky from ProAgro consultancy. According to the ministry, Ukraine has exported 4.06 million tonnes of wheat so far this season, including 1.44 million tonnes in October and 1.32 million tonnes in September. The ministry said earlier this month it had agreed with traders that the wheat exports would not exceed 5.0 million tonnes this season. But traders, who have repeatedly said that Ukraine could export at least 5.5 million tonnes of wheat this season, said on Wednesday that they had reached an agreement with the government to increase the volume to 5.5 million tonnes from 5 million. They also said that the Farm Ministry had promised them to avoid imposing any export limits until December 1. "Traders and the ministry, in accordance with the memorandum, have agreed to increase the maximum amount of wheat for exports in the 2012/13 season to 5.5 million tonnes," Serhiy Stoyanov, the Director of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation grain lobby said. He added that the exports 5.5 million tonnes of wheat could be made without threat to the domestic market. Ukraine, which harvested 15.5 million tonnes of wheat in 2012, consumes about 12 million tonnes per season.
