Ukraine targets becoming third largest corn exporter

Ukraine plans to increase its corn exports during this marketing year from July 2013 to June 2014, with a target to replace Brazil as the third largest maize supplier, the country's Agriculture Ministry' s press service said in a statement Thursday. "We plan to export around 16.4 million tons of corn. This amount is guaranteed to give Ukraine a place in the top three of the world's leading maize suppliers," Agriculture Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk was quoted by the press service as saying. Ukrainian farmers are expected to reap around 26 million tons of corn this year, up 24 percent from 2012, the statement said. In the last marketing year, from July 2012 to June 2013, Ukraine had exported around 13.5 million tons of corn, becoming the fourth biggest maize supplier to the global market.