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.
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.
Ukraine’s Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry has repeatedly reviewed the grain harvest of 2018 upwards – from 63.1 million tonnes to 64 million tonnes, First Deputy Minister Maksym Martyniuk has said. “As a result of the rains, we have very good indicators for corn. And today we are ready to voice a bold forecast that we will have a gross grain harvest of 64 million tonnes,” he said during the “Money, Go!” program broadcasted on the Novoye Vremia radio.
Martyniuk said that this is the second result in history after the year before last’s record of 66 million tonnes. In addition, the ministry reviewed the outlook for grain exports from Ukraine by 0.5 million tonnes to 42.5 million tonnes, adding that the achievement of this indicator largely depends on the ability of Ukrzaliznytsia to quickly solve current logistical problems and ensure a rhythmic supply of grain in ports. According to the ministry, as of October 19, 52.2 million tonnes of grain were harvested in Ukraine from an area of 12.7 million hectares (86%) with a yield of 4.11 tonnes per hectare.
The grain harvest in Ukraine in 2017 amounted to 61.3 million tonnes. Ukraine in 2017/2018 agricultural year exported 39.4 million tonnes of grain.
Gross production of soybeans in Ukraine in 2018 could be 4.2-4.3 million tonnes, which is 10% more than in 2017, Regional Director of the Donau Soja Association Oksana Prosolenko has said.
“It is expected that by the end of 2018, we will reach 4.2-4.3 million tonnes of soybeans. It is too early to predict the situation for 2019, given that the rules of the game have changed. You can estimate it at the end of winter and early spring,” Prosolenko told Interfax-Ukraine.
In the eight months ending August 2018, 3.426 million tonnes of soybeans were harvested, while for the whole of 2017, 3.8 million tonnes were harvested, President of the Ukrainian Association of Soybean Producers and Processors (Ukragropromsoya) Viktor Tymchenko said at the second Annual Agrarian-Practical Fat-and-Oil Conference in Kyiv on Thursday.
According to him, the average yield of soybean in 2018 is 2.53 tonnes from one hectare, while in 2017 the yield was 1.6-1.7 tonnes from one hectare due to adverse weather conditions.
Tymchenko also said that the export of soybeans for eight months amounted to 1.5 million tonnes of soybeans, whereas in 2017 – 2.8 million tonnes. The largest importer of Ukrainian soybeans is Turkey (700,000 tonnes of raw soybeans for processing). The import of Belarus has noticeably increased (from 70,000 tonnes to 200,000 tonnes), as the country built a plant for processing soybeans at the border with the EU.
At the same time, according to Prosolenko, Ukraine now has the opportunity of increasing the export of soybeans to EU countries.
According to Tymchenko, soybean export is complicated by the logistics problems of Ukrzaliznytsia. Prosolenko also said that although officially the cultivation of genetically modified soybeans in Ukraine is not allowed and does not officially exist, but in fact, 60-70% of soybeans are modified. It also complicates exports, the expert said.
According to the president of Ukragropromsoya, soybean processing in Ukraine is about 1 million tonnes: 751,000 tonnes of meal and 174,000 tonnes of oil. Export of meal amounts to 39,000 tonnes, oil – 166,000 tonnes.
At the same time, according to the expert, the increase in the processing of soybeans is unlikely, since Ukraine’s domestic sales market is shrinking due to the decrease in the number of animals fed with soybean meal.
Ukraine’s Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry predicts that corn harvest in Ukraine would increase by 19.4% in 2018 compared with 2017, to 29.5 million tonnes.
“We expect the corn harvest this year to be about 29.5 million tonnes, while the export of the crop this agricultural year [2018/2019 agri-year, July-June] will amount to 22 million tonnes,” First Deputy Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Maksym Martyniuk said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The ministry estimates that the wheat harvest in 2018 may decrease by 7.6%, to 24.2 million tonnes, barley by 13%, to 7.2 million tonnes, rye – by 15%, to 0.38 million tonnes, buckwheat – by 25%, to 0.14 million tonnes, soybean – by 2.6%, to 3.8 million tonnes, and sugar beet – by 10.7%, to 13.3 million tonnes.
The harvest of sunflower can grow by 9.8%, to 13.4 million tonnes, and rapeseed – by 18.2%, to 2.6 million tonnes.
The areas planted with crops for the 2019 harvest will be 8.09 million hectares, in particular 6.2 million hectares with winter wheat, 0.89 million hectares with winter rape, and 0.87 million with winter barley.
