KIEV, UKRAINE — During an interview with btb.tv, Ken Ash, director of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Trade and Agriculture Directorate, said that the new export rules in Ukraine, which include customs procedures on grain exports, are a good idea. In his opinion, when governments introduce more predictable, consistent and transparent customs procedures, grain cost decreases. Another factor helping stabilize global grain market this year is the record crop in Ukraine and several other countries, he said.

New customs procedures in Ukraine were introduced by the 2012 Customs Code. The code cut customs paperwork and reduced maximum duration time of procedures from 24 to 4 hours. Additionally, it is now possible to pick any customs office to apply to.

"The government has introduced all the necessary measures for free and unhindered grain export," said Ruslan Shvets, head of AgroNews.

New customs procedures helped intensify grain and made it nearly impossible for the customs authorities to engage in corruption, reckoned Shvets. As a result, since the marketing year began grain exports increased by 24%. Grain logistics prices in the industry may also drop, affecting the profits received by the traders and nation's economy. Notably, in the current marketing year Ukraine plans to export a record 28 million tonnes of grain.

Ukraine expects to be among the world's top five grain exporters this year, stated the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Prysyazhnyuk on Aug. 15, 2013. Ukraine has a goal of becoming the second largest grain exporter in the world following the U.S., he said. The Eastern European country aims for a 10% share of the global grain market, which is forecast to reach 286 million tonnes in 2013.