As of October 25, farmers in all regions of Ukraine have harvested 63.7 million tons of new crops from 18.1 million hectares, up from 62.2 million tons from 17.7 million hectares a week earlier.
As reported by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food on Friday, 45.1 million tons (42.8 million tons) of grains and pulses, 18.6 million tons (18 million tons) of oilseeds and 8.3 million tons (6.5 million tons) of sugar beets have already been harvested.
The Ministry specified that the harvest of wheat has been completed, with 22.3 million tons harvested from 4.9 million hectares at a yield of 42.4 c/ha, barley – 5.5 million tons from 1.4 million hectares at a yield of 39.2 c/ha, peas – 465.3 million tons from 212.2 thousand hectares at a yield of 21.9 c/ha, and rapeseed – 3.5 million tons from 1.3 million hectares at a yield of 27.3 c/ha.
Corn harvesting continues with 15.4 million tons (13.2 thousand tons a week earlier) from 2.7 million hectares (67% of the plan), buckwheat – 126.9 thousand tons (124.8 thousand tons) from 87.5 thousand hectares (98%), millet – 159.5 thousand tons (158.9 thousand tons) from 85.1 thousand hectares (92%).
The oilseeds harvest is nearing completion in Ukraine. In particular, 5.6 mln tonnes of soybeans have been harvested (5.2 mln tonnes a week earlier) from 2.5 mln hectares (93%), and 9.5 mln tonnes of sunflower from 4.6 mln hectares (94%).
At the same time, the leaders in grain harvesting are farmers in Odesa region who threshed 4.4 mln ha, Poltava region – 4 mln tons, and Vinnytsia region – 3.3 mln tons. In terms of yields, the leaders are farmers in Khmelnytsky region with 68.3 c/ha, Ternopil region – 64.9 c/ha, and Chernihiv region – 63.5 c/ha.
TAS Agro Agro Agro Holding has completed the harvesting of oilseeds in the 2024 season from 34.1 thousand hectares, the yield exceeded the targets for 2024 and was higher than the average for Ukraine, the press service of the agricultural holding reported on its Facebook page.
According to the report, at the end of September, TAS Agro completed sunflower harvesting, harvesting more than 43.6 thousand tons from an area of 17.7 thousand hectares, and soybeans from an area of 16.4 thousand hectares weighing 37.2 thousand tons.
“This year, late summer and early fall were abnormally dry, which had a negative impact on the yield of oilseeds throughout Ukraine. Today, there is a shortage of sunflower seeds on the market, which affects price growth and the overall situation on the agricultural market. In general, we carried out our autumn field work in an extremely narrow time corridor, but we did a great job,” said Oleg Zapletnyuk, CEO of TAS Agro.
Currently, the agricultural holding continues to harvest corn and is completing the sowing of winter wheat on an area of 22.7 hectares.
In addition, in 2024, TAS Agro almost doubled its winter rapeseed sowing, from 8 to 15 thousand hectares. Winter rapeseed has already sprouted and autumn chemical protection measures are underway. The agroholding expects favorable weather and good germination of winter wheat.
Taking into account the experience of 2024, the company will continue to implement the updated strategy, providing the clusters with the necessary amount of new agricultural machinery,” TAS Agro summarized.
TAS Group was founded in 1998. Its business interests include the financial sector (banking and insurance segments) and pharmacy, as well as industry, real estate, and venture capital projects.
Before the war, TAS Agro Group cultivated 83 thousand hectares in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kherson, and Dnipro regions, where it grows soybeans, sunflower, rapeseed, wheat, barley, and corn. In addition, the agricultural holding is engaged in dairy farming (up to 5.5 thousand heads of cattle) and owns six elevators with a one-time storage capacity of 250 thousand tons.
The founder of TAS is Sergey Tigipko.
In 2023-2024 marketing year, Ukraine processed a record 17.4 mln tons of major types of oilseeds, including 14.8 mln tons of sunflower, 1.6 mln tons of soybeans and one million tons of rapeseed, according to the industry association Ukroliyaprom.
“The production and export volumes of sunflower oil not only reached but exceeded some pre-war periods. (…) The increase in sunflower oil production was facilitated by significant processing of sunflower seeds at domestic facilities due to a significant reduction in exports, which decreased by 83.4% or 1.5 million tons,” analysts said.
According to their information, in 2023/2024 MY the total volume of sunflower seeds crushed into oil was 14.8 mln tonnes, up 1.3 mln tonnes compared to the previous year.
At the same time, the production and export volumes of sunflower oil amounted to 6.6 mln tonnes and 6.2 mln tonnes, respectively, which was the second result in the industry’s history. Compared to the pre-war 2020/2021 MY, the production and export volumes of sunflower oil in 2023/2024 MY increased by 13.7% and 17%, respectively.
Ukroliyaprom noted that for the first time since independence, Ukraine processed 1.0 mln tons of rapeseed, which accounted for 22.3% of the total harvest in 2023. The production of rapeseed oil reached a record high of 430 thsd tonnes for Ukraine.
This is 0.8 mln tonnes more than in the previous periods, despite the fact that rapeseed is considered to be the main export-oriented agricultural raw material, the industry association said, adding that the export of rapeseed oil in 2023/24 MY reached the record level of over 424 thsd tonnes.
Ukroliyaprom pointed to the continued growth of soybean and meal oil production and exports by 22% and 29%, respectively.
The Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) has lowered its estimate of the potential harvest of grains and oilseeds in 2024 by 2.8 million tons compared to the previous forecast, to 71.8 million tons, the association’s press service reports.
“The current forecast is based on the average weather conditions over the past five years, so the improvement or deterioration of these conditions in spring and summer make adjustments. Another decrease in the harvest forecast for the new season was caused by the hot and dry weather in Ukraine in July this year, which negatively affected the potential yield of late grains and oilseeds,” the report says.
According to experts, under such conditions, exports in the new season 2024/2025 will amount to 41 mln tons, which is 2.5 mln tons less than the previous forecast. Last season, which ended on June 30, according to the UGA, the export of grains and oilseeds amounted to 57.5 mln tons of grains and oilseeds. Thus, the drop in exports compared to the previous season could be more than 16 million tons.
The UGA estimates the wheat harvest in 2024 at 19.8 mln tons (22 mln tons in 2023). Potential exports of wheat in 2024/2025 MY may amount to about 13 mln tonnes, taking into account that at the beginning of the season carry-over stocks amounted to almost 1 mln tonnes.
The UGA pointed out that the consumption of wheat in Ukraine has decreased due to the war and significant outflow of population abroad. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine, wheat consumption decreased from 8 mln tons to just over 6 mln tons.
According to the UGA, the barley harvest in 2024 may reach 4.95 mln tonnes, which is 350 thsd tonnes more than the previous estimate (5.8 mln tonnes in 2023), and potential exports in 2024/2025 MY are expected to reach about 2 mln tonnes (last year barley exports amounted to almost 2.5 mln tonnes).
Expectations for the corn harvest in the new season are deteriorating due to the prolonged dry period in a number of regions. The UGA estimates the corn harvest at 23.4 million tons, which is 2.1 million tons lower than the previous estimate and 6.2 million tons less than last year’s harvest of 29.6 million tons. At the same time, potential exports may amount to about 18.5 mln tons (last season, exports amounted to 29.3 mln tons, in particular due to carry-over corn stocks).
The sunflower harvest in 2024 can be expected at 12.8 mln tons, which is 0.9 mln tons lower than the previous estimate (2023 – 14.2 mln tons). Potential exports could reach up to 250 thsd tonnes, while sunflower crushing for vegetable oil could reach 12.5 mln tonnes. Last season, the processing amounted to 13.5 mln tons.
In 2024, the UGA expects the rapeseed harvest to reach 4.3 mln tonnes (4.5 mln tonnes in 2023), while the exports in 2024/2025 MY will be 3.4 mln tonnes (3.7 mln tonnes in the current season).
As for soybeans, despite the fact that farmers have increased the area under the crop, unfavorable weather conditions will not allow to get a bigger harvest due to lower yields, experts believe. According to their estimates, the soybean harvest can be expected in 2024 at 4.8 mln tonnes, which is 0.7 mln tonnes less than the previous estimate (4.9 mln tonnes in 2023). Potential exports in 2024/2025 MY may reach 3.5 mln tonnes (last season – almost 3 mln tonnes).
As reported, in 2023, the UGA estimated the harvest at 82.8 mln tons of grains and oilseeds.
Kernel Agro Holding, one of the largest agricultural companies in Ukraine, processed 3.2 million tons of oilseeds in the fourth quarter of the 2023-2024 fiscal year (FY, July-June) and returned to pre-war processing volumes, the company’s press service reported in a preliminary public report.
“This result was achieved thanks to the commissioning of a new oil extraction plant in western Ukraine,” the press service explained on its Facebook page.
According to the report, Kernel transshipped 6.7 million tons of agricultural products through its terminals, including 486 thousand tons for partners.
In fiscal year 2024, the agricultural holding offered its port facilities to Ukrainian farmers for the first time to help increase Ukraine’s agricultural exports. This area will continue to develop, Kernel promised.
“We exported 5.5 million tons of grain, which is 47% more than in the last financial year. This became possible due to stable exports via the Black Sea,” the agricultural holding summarized.
Prior to the war, Kernel was the world’s leading producer of sunflower oil (about 7% of global production) and its exports (about 12%). It is one of the largest producers and sellers of bottled oil in Ukraine. In addition, it is engaged in the cultivation and sale of agricultural products.
In Ukraine, in 2024/25 marketing year (MY, July 2024 – June 2025), the harvest of seeds of major oilseeds will amount to 22.5 mln tonnes, up 3.8% compared to the previous season and higher than the forecast of 21.686 mln tonnes by the State Statistics Service, the industry association Ukroliyaprom said.
According to the industry association’s forecast, sunflower and soybean production is expected to grow this season, while the gross harvest of rapeseed may decline.
The largest increase in 2023/24 MY is expected for soybeans – 5.1 mln tonnes, up 7.5% compared to last year’s figure of 4.743 mln tonnes.
This growth is due to the increase in the planted area by 7.4% to 1.97 mln ha, while the oilseed yield will remain at the level of the previous season and amount to 25.9 c/ha, the experts explained.
According to the analysts’ forecast, the sunflower production in 2024 is expected to reach 13 mln tonnes, up 2% compared to 12.76 mln tonnes in the previous year. The yield of the oilseed will not change and will amount to 24.5 c/ha, while its area will expand to 5.3 mln hectares (+2%).
Ukroliyaprom forecasts the rapeseed harvest at 4.1 mln tonnes, which is 2% lower than in 2023/24 (4.184 mln tonnes). The projected decline in production will be due to a 4.3% decrease in oilseeds acreage to 1.37 mln ha, while rapeseed yield will remain at the level of last year and amount to 29.2 c/ha.
