Gross grain harvest in 2018 totals around 70.1 million compared with 62 million last year, the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine has reported. According to a press release of the ministry, the country threshed 35.5 million tonnes of corn, 24.5 million tonnes of wheat, 7.3 million tonnes of barley, 0.41 million tonnes of rye and 0.13 million tonnes of buckwheat.
In addition, some 13.7 million tonnes of sunflower, 4.4 million tonnes of soybeans, 2.6 million tonnes of rapeseeds were harvested and 13 million tonnes of sugar beets were dug. The largest grain harvest was recorded in Poltava region (6.4 million tonnes). Some 6.1 million tonnes was harvested in Vinnytsia region and 4.8 million tonnes in Cherkasy region.
The highest yield for grain and leguminous crops was in Cherkasy region (7.28 tonnes per ha), as well as in Khmelnytsky region (7.16 tonnes per ha) and Vinnytsia region (7.13 tonnes per ha).
The ministry predicts that grain exports in 2018/19 agricultural year (July-June) would be 47.2 million tonnes compared with 39.9 million tonnes in 2017/18 agri-year.
As of December 18 of this year, from the beginning of the 2018/2019 agri-year, Ukraine exported 21.02 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops, in particular, 10.02 million tonnes of wheat, 3.1 million tonnes of barley, 7.5 million tonnes of corn and 0.4 million tonnes of other cereals have been exported so far.
Ukraine in 2018 threshed over 70 million tonnes of grain and hit a record over all years of the country’s independence, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Oleh Churiy has said.
“We have a record grain harvest in all years of our independence – over 70 million tonnes. If we take into account oilseeds, this is over 100 million tonnes,” he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.
Currency income from agricultural products along with tough monetary and moderate fiscal policies was the key factors of strengthening of the national currency, he said.
Acting Agricultural Policy and Food Minister of Ukraine Maskym Martyniuk wrote on his Facebook page that in Ukraine the forecast for grain exports in 2018/19 agricultural year (July-June) was revised upwards from 42.5 million tonnes to over 45 million tonnes. Gradual exhausting of the agricultural infrastructure could hinder the implementation of the agriculture’s potential, he said.
Martyniuk said that the country has 170 markets where it sells agricultural products.
“In the past eight years Ukraine added 50 countries to the list of trade partners, losing one (but large one),” he said.
Nibulon (Mykolaiv), one of the largest grain traders in Ukraine, intends to build a port in the village of Oleksandrivka (Kherson region) in five years, the company said in a statement.
“This port is a great prospect for the development of the entire Kherson region. This is an extremely difficult task and very large investments, but our company can do this only in five years,” CEO of the company Oleksiy Vadatursky said.
According to him, Nibulon continues the implementation of the investment program in Kherson region. There are already two transshipment terminals of the company in the village of Kozatske and Hola Prystan, while next year the company plans to increase the capacity of the Hola Prystan transshipment terminal by 20,000 tonnes, as well as to expand the capacity of this enterprise for accepting rice.
The company plans in the next two years to reorient almost all of its cargoes to the Dnipro River and transport by water up to 4 million tonnes of products per year, which will allow reducing the load on the roads.
Nibulon cultivates 83,000 hectares of land. It exports agricultural products to more than 60 countries. The annual export volume exceeds 4.5 million tonnes.
Ukraine since the beginning of the 2018/2019 marketing year (MY, July-June) as of December 5 had exported 19.050 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops, which is almost 9.2% more than on the same date of the previous MY.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, the country exported 9.5 million tonnes of wheat, 3 million tonnes of barley, and 6.2 million tonnes of corn.
Some 98,600 tonnes of flour had been exported on the date.
In addition, the 2018 harvesting campaign is being completed in Ukraine: Ukrainian farmers harvested 69.3 million tonnes of grain from an area of 14.6 million hectares (99% of the forecast) with a yield of 47.4 centners per ha. Grain harvest in Ukraine has already exceeded the historical maximum.
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. The grain harvest in Ukraine in 2017 amounted to 62 million tonnes.
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
