KIEV, June 9 - The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revised its grain harvest forecast for Ukraine in the 2011/2012 marketing year (July 2011 through June 2012) upwards by 1.3%, or 550,000 tons, from the forecast given in May, to 43.9 million tons.

As the USDA said on Thursday, the forecast was raised due to maize whose gross yield is projected at 15 million tons, whereas the maize harvest forecast issued in May stood at 14.5 million tons.

The Ukrainian grain export forecast in the 2011/2012 marketing year was also raised to 19.5 million tons from 18.5 million tons (or 5.4%), due to better maize yield forecasts, the USDA said.