The grain harvest in Ukraine may grow from 61.3 million tonnes in 2017 to 62 million tonnes in 2018, according to the UkrAgroConsult consulting agency. “This year the gross harvest will reach the level of 62 million tonnes. Exports will amount to 41 million tonnes for the 2017/2018 marketing year. In the next marketing year we forecast growth of exports by at least one million tonnes,” grain market analyst at UkrAgroConsult Maryna Sych said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.
According to her, this year there is a competition between crops due to the fact that the timing of sowing early and late spring crops has almost coincided.
“Now we have virtually a week to fulfill the barley sowing plan, as further it will be necessary to start sowing maize and sunflower. The question of implementing the plan for sowing spring barley remains open,” she said. UkrAgroConsult expects in the current conditions that the area under barley this year will be reduced, the yield will be about 7.7-7.8 million tonnes. If the farmers manage to fulfill the barley sowing plan, the crop can reach eight million tonnes against 8.3 million tonnes in 2017.
The area under maize, according to the agency, will remain at last year’s level. There may be a slight increase in the area if it is necessary to compensate for the reduction of barley crops. The maize harvest is projected at 26 million tonnes, or at 28 million tonnes if the sowing area is increased, compared to 24.1 million tonnes in 2017.
Ukraine as of Friday, April 6, had sowed 138,000 hectares with grain and leguminous crops, or 6% of the forecast, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has said.
According to information on its website, spring grains are sown in 13 regions.
In particular, spring wheat was planted on 2,000 hectares, or 1% of the plan, spring barley on 82,000 ha (5%), oats on 3,000 ha (1%), and peas on 51,000 ha (12%).
Fertilization of winter crops for grain is continuing: nutrients have been used on an area of 4.5 million hectares (62% of the forecast).
A survey of winter grains for the 2018 harvest shows that out from the seeded 7.3 million ha, seedlings were obtained on 99.7% of the areas, of which 6.4 million hectares (89%) are in a good and satisfactory state, while those on 816,500 hectares (11%) are weak and thick.
Winter crops for grain for the harvest of 2018 have been sown on an area of 7.3 million hectares, or 101% of the area under the 2017 harvest. In particular, wheat was sown on 6.3 million hectares, or 103% of the target, barley on 800,000 hectares, or 94%, rye on 149,400 hectares, or 88%. In addition, winter rapeseeds for grain have been sown on an area of one million hectares or 112%
The grain terminal of Cargill and MV Cargo in Yuzhny port (Odesa region), whose capacity will total 5 million tonnes of grain per year, and the cost is estimated at $150 million, could by the end of 2018 transfer the first one million tonnes of grain, the co-owner and CEO of TIS Port, Andriy Stavnitser, has said. “We plan to launch the MV Cargo terminal in summer and I hope we will handle one million tonnes by the end of the year. I will be superstitious, I will not voice the date. But we are doing everything to launch it in summer. Whether it will be June or August I cannot say: construction in Ukrainian realities is a thing not always predictable,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Stavnitser, from the point of view of construction itself, everything is proceeding well: the dredging has been completed, the filling of the pier with sand is being carried out, and then hydraulic engineering construction will begin.
As reported, Cargill (the United States), the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority and MV Cargo LLC in August 2015 signed a tripartite memorandum of intent to implement an investment project in Yuzhny port. Its launch was scheduled for 2017.
