China is seeking restitution from Ukraine for that country’s breach of a US$3 billion loan-for-grain agreement. The Export Bank of China provided US$3 billion to Kiev in exchange for a supply of grain over 15 years. To date Chinese importers have received US$153 million worth of grain, or 180,000 tons and according to a Ukrainian parliament official, the State Food & Grain Corp. of Ukraine has used a portion of the Chinese loan to supply exports to Ethiopia, Iran, Kenya, and Syrian opposition groups. The agreement stated that Ukraine would provide grain over set number of years with annual volume not to exceed 6 million tons. In recent years China has intensified agricultural ventures with Ukraine most notably with the Xinjiang Production & Construction Corps. announcing an agreement with leading Ukrainian agricultural company KSG Agro for a 50-year program to secure produce from 3 million hectares of Ukrainian farmland for export to China. KSG later stated that the agreement was solely concerning a transfer of irrigation technology to Xinjiang.
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