Saudi Arabia may increase imports of Ukrainian barley to 5-7 million tonnes next season according to an agreement between the two countries, Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted Ukraine's Agriculture Minister as saying on Tuesday.

Interfax quoted Mykola Prysyazhnyuk as saying Saudi Arabia imported up to 4 million tonnes of Ukrainian barley last season.

He said the future shipments could be made by state-run companies.

Ukraine's agriculture ministry last week said the former Soviet republic would supply grain, including milling wheat, to Saudi Arabia under an agreement signed in November.

Saudi Arabia is already a major consumer of Ukrainian feed barley and has also imported Ukrainian wheat and maize.

According to data provided by UkrAgroConsult consultancy, Saudi Arabia imported 1.1 million tonnes of Ukrainian barley, 136,420 tonnes of wheat and 22,000 tonnes of maize in the first three months of the 2011/12 marketing season.

Ukraine sold 3.9 million tonnes of barley to Saudi Arabia in the 2010/11 season.-Reuters