Yanukovych: No grounds for rise in prices of bread

13:23

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has predicted "relative stability" in prices of bread.

"We have no grounds to say that bread will significantly grow in price," he told reporters on Wednesday while attending the Sorochyntsi Fair.

"There will be relative stability in prices on the bread market," Yanukovych said.

He also said he did not rule out a slight rise in prices of bread, but added that the authorities would do their best to prevent this.

Yanukovych said that the wheat harvest of about 40 million tonnes was expected in Ukraine this year, including about 17 million tonnes of bread wheat.

He said that around six million tonnes of wheat was required for annual consumption in Ukraine.

"We have set a task to buy one million tonnes of bread wheat for the state reserve. We have currently bought about 800,000 tonnes. And 1.5 million tonnes will be purchased for the regional funds," he said.

Yanukovych noted that this was nearly a five-month reserve of grain.

"We have no grounds to say that Ukraine will be without bread. Our country will have bread," he said.

Yanukovych said that the authorities were trying to set prices of grain this year at a level ensuring that "farmers could earn something."