KIEV, Oct. 11 - The Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry is now saying the country's grain traders could export as much as 5 million tons of wheat this agricultural year - having forecast four million tons of wheat exports previously.

"Literally the day before yesterday [on October 9], we met with grain traders and agreed that we would increase [wheat exports] to five million tons," Agrarian Policy and Food Minister Mykola Prysiazhniuk told the press in Kiev on Thursday. The ministry plans to return to the question of the country's grain-export balance in November, factoring in the progress of the planting campaign, he said.

The Ukrainian government will not be taking any "unforeseen steps" as regards grain exports, Prysiazhniuk said, but in the event the country's food security comes under threat the government will be compelled to halt them.