As of February 3, Ukrainian corn producers exported 7.95 million tons of corn — 1.4 million tons more than 2012 in a year-on-year comparison, according to the Agrarian Ministry of Ukraine. Following the world's leading corn exporters — the U.S., Argentina and Brazil — Ukraine has become a top corn supplier among European countries.
In 2012, Ukraine produced about 20 million tons of corn; more than half of it the country is ready to sell to foreign buyers, said Ukrainian agrarian minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk. Major consumers of Ukrainian corn in January–November of 2012 were Belgium, Egypt, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
In 2012, Ukraine began cooperation with China, the world's largest corn consumer, regarding the supply of corn. The eastern Asian nation plans to buy approximately 3 million tons of Ukrainian corn per year. To help boost Ukraine's corn production, in July 2012, China provided a US$3 billion loan for Ukraine's agricultural sector. The loan is intended to finance the increase of the trade volume, raise productivity and stimulate equipment modernization in the Ukrainian agricultural sector. With the money Ukraine will be able to purchase crop-protection agents, seeds and equipment from China, as well as invest in land cultivation and set up a plant for organic fertilizer processing and crop-protection agent production.
Currently, Ukraine has a 12.9 percent share of the global corn market. In 2011, Ukraine took the third spot in the global corn supplier rating, being the second runner-up to the U.S. and Argentina.
