Ukraine estimates agricultural exports at $6 bln in 2015 – Yatseniuk

The Cabinet of Ministers estimates forex proceeds from Ukrainian agricultural exports in 2015 to total $6 billion, according to Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk.

"We expect that during the current year every third dollar in Ukraine will be a dollar from the agricultural sector," Yatseniuk said at a meeting with agrotraders in Kyiv region.

He said that, given prices for agricultural products in global markets, foreign currency earnings in the second half of 2015 are expected to reach $4 billion.

Yatseniuk, referring to the Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food, said that the harvest in 2015 is forecast to reach "almost the level of last year," although the early grain harvest was 2 million tonnes higher.

Yatseniuk noted that the risk of Russia introducing an embargo on food imports from Ukraine would not be painful for the country, as the share of the Russian market in Ukrainian agricultural exports over the year fell from 8% to 2%.