August 17 2001, 17:30 APK-Inform

The government controls the situation at the grain market

Although price situation at the grain market is quite difficult, the government controls it. Vice Premier Leonid Kozachenko announced about this on August 16 during the meeting of representatives of regional agricultural organizations.

The government recommends to use several measures, which can help to hold the prices at the grain market. Agricultural producers are offered to take additional bank-credits so as to put off selling of grains for two months.

Along with that they're proposed to supply grain to state joint stock company "Khlib Ukrainy" as payment for received credits at price 650 hryvnyas per ton or sell it under scheme of grain pledge purchases. Besides the government doesn't see "anything bad" in export of 2-3 million tons of feed wheat at "formed adequately prices".

Leonid Kozachenko also noted that there had been some problem with traders, who "had overloaded port elevators", capacity of which is 380 thousand tons, and thus prevented port from working. Besides nearly 3 thousand cars with grain was accumulated near ports. According to the Vice Premier, this action was directed to decreasing of prices at the domestic market. In the same time traders were gathered to the Cabinet of Ministers on August 13 and in the presence of representatives of antimonopoly committee, prosecutors office, customs house, in L. Kozachenko's words, were obliged to unload the ports during 10 days.