KIEV, July 20 – The Agriculture Ministry has said it hopes the country will harvest over 43 million tons of grain this year, despite the wet weather that is hindering the harvesting campaign.

"Today we hope that we'll harvest over 43 million tons of grain. Taking into account ending stocks, I think that there is no threat to food security," Agriculture Minister Mykola Prysiazhniuk said at a meeting in the Ukrainian cabinet in Kiev on Tuesday.

He said that it is expected that corn harvest would grow by 1.3 million tons year-over-year, to some 12 million tons. The expected increase in corn harvest is due to an increase in the area under cultivation by 600,000 hectares.