Methodology for determining country of origin of grain to be finalized by end of August - Agrarian Policy Ministry

By the end of August, the UK Ministry of Agriculture is expected to finalize a methodology for verifying grain originating in Ukraine, which will allow determining whether Russians are transporting stolen grain from Ukrainian territories for sale under the guise of their own.

Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitalii Holovnia said this in a commentary to Ukrinform.

“In collaboration with the Ministries of Agriculture of the United Kingdom and Lithuania, a trilateral group has been established to develop a methodology for determining the origin of grain at the genetic level. By the end of August, the British side is expected to provide a finalized verification system and methods for the employees of the relevant laboratories in Lithuania to test this grain. In September, a training session is planned, and it is anticipated that by the end of the year, the results will be available,” Holovnia said.

According to him, special laboratories will be deployed in Lithuanian ports to determine the country of origin of grain samples taken from ships.

"Why Lithuania? Because a significant quantity of grain originating from Russia and Belarus is transported from Lithuanian ports. And this analysis will allow us to record whether stolen Ukrainian grain is being transported under the guise of that grain, or whether a mix of different grains is being made," the Deputy Minister explained.

The UK has already received samples of Ukrainian grain to establish its "genetic code". This is part of the samples that each region submits to the Research Institute for Plant Variety Examination for research purposes on an annual basis. Over time, the institute has gathered a substantial “genetic base” that will now enable it to prove the true origin of the grain that Russians sell as their own.

"This is the first initiative at such an intergovernmental level; previously, companies ordered such analyzes on a one-to-one basis, for example, for forensic examinations. This is important for us, primarily because we will be able to confirm the origin of our grain in such large volumes and eventually file claims for damages. When we have developed the methodology in Lithuania, we will ask other countries to do similar analyzes," the Deputy Minister added.

As reported, according to media reports, Russian citizens have registered about 500 companies in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. In particular, more than 80 tonnes of this year's grain harvest have already been exported from the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk region alone.