Ukraine as of November 29 threshed 67.6 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops from 14.5 million hectares (98% of the target) with the yield of 4.72 tonnes per hectare, the press service of Ukraine’s Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry has reported.
Some 34.3 million tonnes of early grain and leguminous crops was harvested from 9.9 million hectares with a yield of 3.48 tonnes per hectare, while 33.3 million tonnes of maize was gathered from 4.3 million hectares (95%) with a yield of 7.69 tonnes per hectare, Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said.
The yield of buckwheat was 136,000 tonnes harvested from 108,000 hectares (99%), or 1.26 tonnes per hectare; that of millet was 78,000 tonnes from 51,000 hectares (98%), or 1.54 tonnes per hectare.
What is more, Ukrainian farmers threshed 13.8 million tonnes of sunflower seeds from 6 million hectares (99.8%) with a yield of 2.28 tonnes per hectare; 4.3 million tonnes of soybeans from 1.7 million hectares (99%) with a yield of 2.58 tonnes per hectare; 2.7 million tonnes of rapeseeds from 1 million hectares with a yield of 2.61 tonnes per hectare.
The yield of sugar beets was 13.5 million tonnes from 273,000 hectares (98% of the plan), or 49.4 tonnes per hectare.
Ukrainian farmers have sowed 7.1 million hectares with winter grain crops (the plan is 7.2 million hectares) and 1 million hectares with winter rapeseeds (116% of the plan).
The ministry expects Ukraine’s grain yield in 2018 will grow by 2 million tonnes compared to 2017, to 64 million tonnes.
Construction of new grain and oilseeds transshipment facilities at the Mykolaiv seaport will start in the rear of berth eight. Private investment will total over UAH 1.2 billion, the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority has reported. “We are investing our own funds and are actively cooperating with port operators and private businesses. This is the development of the berth and rear infrastructure of berths zero and eight. This will increase the capacity of the Mykolaiv port for processing grain by more than 2 million tonnes per year, oil – by 750,000 tonnes per year,” Head of the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority Raivis Veckagans said during a working visit to the Mykolaiv seaport.
The Ukrainian Sea Port Authority refused to name investors, adding that this would be a new cooperation for the port. The Ukrainian Sea Port Authority plans to allocate UAH 350 million within the framework of fulfilling the company’s obligations under a public private partnership project for the construction and dredging of berth eight. At the same time, private investment in infrastructure will amount to over UAH 1.2 billion.
According to the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority, the planned grain complex will have a storage capacity of 96,000 tonnes, a warehouse – 40,000 tonnes, as well as other support facilities. Earlier, the Infrastructure Ministry reported that COFCO (China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation) is ready to invest up to $30 million in the berth capacity of the Mykolaiv port and river logistics.
Seaside Terminal intends to invest about UAH 120 million in the reconstruction of the Mykolaiv-Vantazhny railway station in order to increase its capacity.
FACILITIES, GRAIN, INVESTMENT, MYKOLAIV, OILSEEDS, SEAPORT, TRANSSHIPMENT
Ukraine in 2022 would increase grain and oilseeds production from 90 million tonnes in 2018 to 100 million tonnes, President of the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) Mykola Horbachev has said. “We expect that by 2022 Ukraine will increase the production of grain and oilseeds to 100 million tonnes, exports will be up to 70 million tonnes. By this time, the port capacity will be enough to unload these volumes,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“This year we already have more than 90 million tonnes. This season we expect a record grain yield thanks to corn. We had 6 tonnes per hectare in good years before, and this year we already have 7.8 tonnes from 1 ha. We are approaching normal rates. For example, in the United States, the average corn yield is 11 tonnes per ha,” Horbachev said.
At the same time, according to him, next year we can expect a slight decline in cereal production, since the record corn harvest may not repeat.
“We predict a total grain and oilseed harvest of 92 million tonnes. If next year the corn harvest is usual, this figure will decrease by almost 9 million tonnes. But this is more associated with corn. We expect the same (that is, usual) harvest for major crops, since the acreage has not changed,” the president of the UGA said.
According to him, the export of grain without processing products for the current year is planned at the level of 52-52.5 million tonnes. However, companies may have difficulties with timely delivery of grain to ports due to difficulties with Ukrzaliznytsia.
“We can work at the level of 5 million tonnes of exports per month. But it must somehow be predicted: about 6 million tonnes of corn were sold in October-November, but it is not a fact that it will have time to get to the port. Thus, some companies had a situation when they could not ensure the availability of cargo in the port. They purchased grain in Argentina or Brazil and supplied it from those countries, not from Ukraine,” Horbachev said.
The annual port grain handling capacity in 2018 would grow by 6 million tonnes, reaching 49.9 million tonnes, the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority has reported. “This year, the construction of three more grain terminals was completed at the ports of Yuzhny, Berdiansk and Olvia. They will increase annual modern grain transshipment capacity by another 6 million tonnes,” Head of the administration of the Yuzhny branch of the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority Maksym Shyrokov said.
He recalled that over the past five agricultural years, the volume of grain exports through the seaports of Ukraine has almost doubled, from 22.1 million tonnes to 43.9 million tonnes, and in total 52 grain terminals operate in the ports of Ukraine. According to him, the construction of transshipment complexes, terminals, reconstruction and construction of berths continues in Mykolaiv, Chornomorsk, Odesa, Mariupol and Yuzhny ports.
The countries of Asia, the Middle East and North Africa remain the main destinations for grain export deliveries through Ukrainian ports, while the EU countries reduce grain imports from Ukraine, Shyrokov said.
Ukraine since the beginning of the 2018/2019 marketing year (MY, July-June) and as of November 21 had exported 16.58 million tonnes of grain, which is almost 4.9% more than on the same date of the previous MY.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, the country exported 8.8 million tonnes of wheat, 3 million tonnes of barley, and 4.4 million tonnes of corn.
In addition, 82,500 tonnes of flour had been exported on that date.
As reported, with reference to the ministry, Ukraine exported 39.4 million tonnes of grain in the 2017/2018 MY. Grain exports in the 2018/2019 MY are projected to be 42.5 million tonnes.
Ukraine as of November 13 had threshed 65.1 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops from the area of 14.1 million hectares (95% of the forecast) with the yield being 46.1 centners per ha. According to the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, farmers harvested 34.3 million tonnes of early grain and leguminous crops from 9.9 million hectares with a yield of 34.8 centners per ha, 30 million tonnes of corn from 4 million hectares (87%) with a yield of 75.4 centners/ha, 135,000 tonnes of buckwheat from 107,000 hectares (99%) with a yield of 12.6 centners/ha, 78,000 tonnes of millet from 51,000 hectares (98%) with the yield being 15.4 centners/ha.
In addition, 13.7 million tonnes of sunflower were harvested from 6 million hectares (99%) with a yield of 22.7 centners per ha, 4.3 million tonnes of soybeans from 1.7 million hectares (98%) with a yield of 25.7 centners/ha, and 2.7 million tonnes of rapeseeds from one million hectares with a yield of 26.1 centners/ha.
Sugar beets were threshed in the amount of 12.6 million tonnes from an area of 256,000 hectares (92%) with the yield standing at 492 centners/ha.
Along with harvesting, the autumn sowing campaign is underway. Thus, the farmers have sowed 7.1 million hectares with winter grains with the projected area being 7.2 million hectares, as well as one million hectares of winter rapeseeds (116% of the projected area).
