KIEV, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine plans to increase its grain exports this year despite the projected decrease in harvest, a senior Agriculture Ministry's official said on Thursday.
This year, Ukraine has a potential to ship abroad about 42 million tons of grain compared with 40.2 million tons in 2016, Olga Trofimtseva, Ukraine's deputy agriculture minister, said during a conference of "Ukraine's grain exports" in Kiev.
According to the Agriculture Ministry's forecast, the country's grain production is expected to decline by seven percent to 62 million tons this year.
However, the strong grain exports are set to be supported by large carry-over stocks and decreased domestic consumption.
In 2016, China was Ukraine's largest corn importer, accounting for about 16 percent of the total maize exports, and the third-largest barley importer with an exports share of 6.2 percent.
Overall, Ukraine exported 6.075 billion U.S. dollars worth of grain last year.
