KYIV. Jan 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Fields with spring grain and leguminous crops in 2016 could grow by 10.3%, to 7.547 million hectares, the press service of the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine has told Interfax-Ukraine.
Fields with corn could grow by 9.6%, to 4.536 million hectares, sorghum – by almost two times, to 98,700 hectares, rice – by 6%, to 12,400 hectares, millet – by 19%, to 126,500 hectares, and buckwheat fields could narrow by 11.8%, to 116,600 hectares.
The ministry also predicts that fields with sugar beets grow by 5%, to 250,500 hectares, soybeans – by 0.8%, to 2.164 million hectares and sunflower seeds – by 1.7%, to 5.048 million hectares.
The ministry said that Ukraine reduced fields with winter crops for 2016 harvest by 10.5%, to 7.06 million hectares, and fields with winter rapeseeds were decreased by 2.6%, to 645,800 hectares.
According to the State Statistics Service, areas sown with agricultural crops in Ukraine (excluding the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea and the Anti-Terrorist Operation zone) for the 2015 harvest have dropped by 1.9% compared to 2014, to 26.7 million hectares. The total area sown grain and leguminous crops this year amounted to nearly 14.7 million hectares, which is 0.5% less than last year.
