The harvest of grain and leguminous crops in Ukraine in 2019, according to preliminary data from the regions, could reach 71.8 million tonnes, which is 1.7 million tonnes more than in 2018, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has reported. According to the agency, wheat production may increase by 3.5 million tonnes, to 28.1 million tonnes, the yield of barley by 1.6 million tonnes, to 8.9 million tonnes, oats by 26,000 tonnes, to 444,000 tonnes, millet by 84,000 tonnes, to 165,000 tonnes.
At the same time, the ministry expects the reduction in the harvest of corn by 3 million tonnes, to 32.8 million tonnes, peas by 203,000 tonnes, to 572,000 tonnes, rye by 60,000 tonnes, to 333,000 tonnes, buckwheat by 52,000 tonnes, to 85,000 tonnes, rice by 6,000 tonnes, to 63,000 tonnes.
In addition, the forecast for rapeseeds in 2019 was raised by 472,000 tonnes, to 3.2 million tonnes, for sunflower seeds decreased by 589,000 tonnes, to 13.6 million tonnes, soybeans by 827,000 tonnes, to 3.6 million tonnes.
The Ministry of Agriculture expects that 9.8 million tonnes of sugar beets will be harvested, which is 4.2 million tonnes less than in 2018.
The forecast for potato was reduced by 2.2 million tonnes, to 20.3 million tonnes, vegetables by 575,000 tonnes, to 8.9 million tonnes.
KSG Agro next year plans to boost grain and wheat flour export to Oman, Qatar, Libya and Angola 2.8 times compared with 2019, to 50,000 tonnes.
The holding said in a press release that in 2019 KSG Agro plans to export up to 18,000 tonnes of grain and flour to these countries, and at present, 11,800 tonnes of goods have been delivered.
The company said that in 2019, the agricultural holding exported cereals and flour exclusively to Oman, Qatar, Libya and Angola.
“We are very interested in exporting to the markets of the Middle East and Africa, where there is a demand for our products. Expanding agricultural exports allows us to diversify sales channels and receive foreign exchange earnings, as well as increase margins,” KSG Agro Board Chairman Serhiy Kasianov said.
In 2018, KSG Agro delivered 5,000 tonnes of corn to Oman and Qatar, in 2019 the export of this crop to two countries amounted to 5,300 tonnes. In addition, this year, the agricultural holding exported feed barley to these two countries in the amount of 4,000 tonnes. Also in 2019, KSG Agro delivered 2,500 tonnes of wheat flour to Libya and Angola.
“Thus, the total export volume of agricultural products of the agricultural holding in 2019 increased 2.4 times compared to 2018,” KSG Agro said.
KSG Аgro is a vertically integrated agricultural group, working in almost all the segments of the agricultural market, including the production, storage, processing, and sale of agricultural products.
Ukraine since the beginning of the new 2019/2020 marketing year (MY, July-June) as of October 11, 2019 had exported 15.096 million tonnes of grain and legumes, which is 4.6 million more than on the same date of the previous MY.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, to date, Ukraine has exported 9.6 million tonnes of wheat, 3 million tonnes of barley, and 2.4 million tonnes of corn.
As of October 11 this year, farmers had exported 92,800 tonnes of flour.
As reported, with reference to the ministry, in the 2018/2019 MY farmers exported a record 50.4 million tonnes of grain, legumes and flour, which is 23% more than in the previous MY.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in September raised its forecast for grain exports for the 2019/2020 MY by 400,000 tonnes compared with the August forecast, to 54.44 million tonnes.
Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Dmytro Sologub has said that grain harvest in Ukraine this year could reach 80 milion tonnes compared with 70.1 million tonnes in 2018. “This year, grain crops harvest in Ukraine could hit a record of 80 million tonnes, and this is not a coincidence, not a factor of favorable weather conditions, but rather an increase in the effectiveness of the agricultural sector, which has invested a lot in updating machinery and technologies in recent years,” the NBU said in a message on its Facebook page citing the deputy NBU governor.
In addition, according to Sologub, 80 million tonnes of grain is not the limit, and land reform can contribute to a significant increase in crop yields in the coming years.
As reported with reference to the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food, this year the harvest in Ukraine may reach 71.1 million tonnes (of which wheat – 27.8 million tonnes) compared to 70.1 million tonnes in 2018.
Ukraine since the beginning of the new 2019/2020 agricultural year (July-June) and as of October 7, 2019 had exported 14.472 million tonnes of grain and legumes, which is 45% more than on the same date last agri-year.
According to the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food, farmers have also exported 9.2 million tonnes of wheat, 2.99 million tonnes of barley, and 2.24 million tonnes of corn.
As of October 7 of this year, 87,800 tonnes of flour have also been exported.
As reported, with reference to the ministry, Ukraine in the 2018/2019 agri-year exported a record 50.4 million tonnes of grain, legumes and flour, which is 23% more than in the previous agri-year.
PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia in September 2019 has launched three new container trains for grain transportation running on a fixed schedule from Chornomorsk-Port station (Odesa region) to Balin station (Khmelnytsky region), and from Hnivan station (Vinnytsia region) to Starokostyantynivka station (Khmelnytsky region).
This follows from the report of Ukrzaliznytsia press service as quoting company’s head Yevhen Kravtsov as saying on September 24.
The railway operator has already put 27 container trains, of which 22 are regular ones.
“Now Ukrzaliznytsia operates about 150 grain containers used to transport grain cargo from elevators to seaports. The design of these containers allows to unload grain directly onto the vessel, which significantly speeds up the transportation process, and, therefore, reduces its cost,” the press service quotes Kravtsov.
According to him, in general, from the beginning of 2019, 248,280 containers (TEU) were transported, which is 10% more than over the same period in 2018.
Besides, Kravtsov said that since the beginning of 2019, the company launched extra ten container trains, of which four are international ones.
“Such service allows reducing the turnover of rolling stock more than three times and, as a result, helps to reduce the final cost of cargo transportation by 25%,” Ukrzaliznytsia head said.
