Ukraine 2008 Harvest Latest: Grain Exports Seen Up Fivefold

Ukraine's 2008 grain harvest stands at almost 43mmt to date at around 96% complete the Agriculture Ministry's press service reported Friday. This is almost 14mmt higher than 2007's 29.3mmt and twice the amount harvested at the same point last year.

2008-09 grain exports are seen totalling around 20mmt, with 3.2mmt already exported. The country's '07-08 exports were just 3.7 million tonnes

The total grain harvest to date includes 26.596mmt of wheat they said, substantially higher than earlier estimates for a crop of around 20mmt, and almost double 2007's crop of 14mmt.