As of March 28, Ukraine sowed 476.7 thousand hectares with spring grains and pulses, up 8.3% year-on-year, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported on Friday.
According to the report, the rate of sowing peas is 51.1% higher than last year as of the same date and amounts to 81.8 thousand hectares, barley – 35.6% higher and reached 291.5 thousand hectares, wheat is 27.8% higher – 68.3 thousand hectares, oats – 17.6% higher – 28.7 thousand hectares.
Agrarians of Odesa region are leading the way in spring sowing campaign. They have already sown 7 thou hectares of wheat, 41.5 thou hectares of barley, 28.4 thou hectares of peas and 1.5 thou hectares of oats.
In Mykolaiv region, 2.2 thou hectares of wheat, 33.4 thou hectares of barley, 17.6 thou hectares of peas and 0.5 thou hectares of oats were sown; in Khmelnytsky region – 7.2 thou hectares of wheat, 23.7 thou hectares of barley, 0.8 thou hectares of peas and 0.5 thou hectares of oats; in Poltava region – 6.4 thou hectares of wheat, 56.2 thou hectares of barley, 0.8 thou hectares of peas and 0.5 thou hectares of oats. hectares of wheat, 56.2 thousand hectares of barley, 0.8 thousand hectares of peas and 0.3 thousand hectares of oats; in Poltava – 6.4 thousand hectares of wheat, 56.2 thousand hectares of barley, 4.7 thousand hectares of peas and 2.3 thousand hectares of oats; in Ternopil – 14.4 thousand hectares of wheat, 56.2 thousand hectares of barley, 0.8 thousand hectares of peas and 0.3 thousand hectares of oats. hectares of wheat, 56.2 thou hectares of barley, 3.1 thou hectares of peas and 2.3 thou hectares of oats; in Vinnytsia region – 5.9 thou hectares of wheat, 27.1 thou hectares of barley and 2.3 thou hectares of peas.
Last week, Ukrainian farmers sowed grains and legumes on 262.2 thou hectares. Poltava region is in the lead, with 44.2 thou hectares planted.
Poltava region is also the leader in sugar beet sowing, with 10.2 thou hectares already planted. Sowing of this crop has also started in Vinnytsia, Volyn and Rivne regions.
Agrarians in Kyiv region have started sowing sunflower, and those in Vinnytsia region – soybeans.
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy reported in the State Agrarian Register that 70% of respondents plan to increase soybean acreage by 21% on average compared to 2023, based on the results of a survey conducted by the State Agrarian Register on farmers’ preparations for the spring crops sowing campaign for the 2024 harvest.
The survey also showed that during the spring sowing campaign, Ukrainian farmers will prioritize pulses, which will increase by 11%, and spring barley – by 7%. The area under spring rapeseed is expected to increase by 24%, sugar beet by 17%, and corn by 9%. The area under sunflower may potentially decrease.
In general, in 2024, the area under spring crops may decrease by 0.5 million hectares or 3.7% compared to last season, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
Due to the drought observed in Ukraine, autumn winter crops have already been partially lost, at the same time, the prolonged lack of precipitation intensifies the pace of the harvesting campaign and contributes to high quality corn grain, according to the analytical cooperative “Pusk”, established within the framework of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Rada (VAR).
“The forecast model does not show precipitation in Ukraine in the near future. Therefore, the moisture content of corn grain remains low, averaging 17-20%, while in the past season it was 30-35%. This will help reduce the cost of corn grain, as one drying cycle is enough for the harvested crop,” analysts said.
They noted that in early October, agrarians will intensify the collection of corn, because they will complete the harvesting of sunflower and soybeans.
At the same time, it is noted that the shelling of ports in Odessa and Danube region hinders the export of corn. At the same time, this product is in demand from China exclusively on CIF basis with delivery in October-December at a conditional price of $250/ton.
“On all bases weekly price tags for Ukrainian corn lose 3-5$/ton. The supply of its grain is high, but logistical problems are and will continue to be a factor in the fall of prices, especially in the deployment of the harvesting campaign”, – explained in the CAP and added that in a week we can expect the following level of prices for 1 ton of corn: SRT river ports – 140-150$, DAP border – 145-155$.
Agrarians in all regions except Transcarpathia have sown 1155 thousand hectares of winter crops, of which 905.9 thousand hectares are allocated for winter rape and 249 thousand hectares for winter grains, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reports.
According to the report, 228.6 thou hectares are already under winter wheat, 10.8 thou hectares under winter barley, and 9.5 thou hectares under winter rye.
Over the previous week, 251 thou hectares were planted with winter rape, and 204 thou hectares with winter grain.
In addition, it is reported that farmers of Volyn, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Chernivtsi regions have completed sowing of winter rape.
Most of the winter grains were sown in Sumy region – 25.9 thousand hectares, which is 50% of the forecast, winter rapeseed – in Dnipropetrovs’k region, 93.4 thousand hectares (74.4% of the forecast).
As reported with reference to the survey conducted by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the vast majority of farmers do not plan to significantly change the area under winter crops in 2024 compared to the previous season.
Agrarians of all regions of Ukraine have started sowing winter crops for grain, as well as actively sowing rape. As of early September, 699.7 thousand hectares of winter crops have already been sown, including 654.9 thousand hectares of rape and 44.8 thousand hectares of grain, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported.
According to the report, winter wheat has already been sown on 42.5 thousand hectares, winter barley on 1.2 thousand hectares, winter rye – 1.1 thousand hectares.
According to the ministry, due to favorable weather conditions sowing of rape has already been completed in Volyn, Poltava, Sumy and Ternopil regions. The largest areas under winter rape are now in Ternopil (72.5 thousand hectares), Vinnitsa (67.2 thousand hectares) and Kirovograd (59.4 thousand hectares) regions.
As reported, according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the vast majority of agrarians do not plan to significantly change the sowing areas under winter crops in 2024 compared to last season.
Agrofirm Dobrobut from the group of companies of Astarta agro-industrial holding Astarta, the largest sugar producer in the country, has started sowing winter rape for the season-2024.
According to information on the website of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), the agroholding will reduce the area under rape by 12% in the new season and will allocate 12,000 hectares to it.
“Compared to last year, we reduced the sown area under rapeseed by 12%, but only at the expense of crop rotation,” the press service quoted Astarta’s director of agricultural production Vadim Skrypnyk as saying.
He noted that for the Poltava region, which is always subject to unfavorable weather conditions in summer, sowing winter crops is the least risky and allows you to get good yields. “In addition, we have noticed that early sowing brings a positive effect. Therefore, this year we start sowing earlier where possible,” he added.
According to the agricultural holding, Astarta will start sowing somewhat later in the western regions of the country due to a delay in winter wheat harvest due to weather conditions.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It includes six sugar mills, agricultural farms with a land bank of 220,000 hectares and dairy farms with 22,000 cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globino (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In the first half of 2023, Astarta’s revenue from sales of key products increased by 64.8% year-on-year to UAH 10.72 bln. The main contribution was made by sales of sugar – UAH 3.27 bln, which increased by 75.5%, corn – UAH 2.66 bln (+53.2%) and soybean meal – UAH 1.96 bln (+84.5%).
Agroholding “Continental Farmers Group” began sowing winter crops for the harvest of 2024, for which it plans to allocate 97.8 thousand hectares, reported the press service of the agricultural holding.
According to the report, Continental is traditionally the first to sow winter rape, for which 34.8 thousand hectares will be allocated. Weather conditions favor sowing work: thanks to precipitation in the soil is enough moisture.
“We apply different production technologies according to the type of seeders we have. These include direct seeding immediately after harvesting wheat and barley with Horsch Focus seeders, and traditional continuous seeding. We also plan to use precision seeders with a row spacing of 35 cm,” said Konstantin Shityuk, Operations Director of Continental Farmers Group.
According to him, sowing of winter rape began in accordance with the planned dates. The company is fully provided with seeds, mineral fertilizers, protection products and fuel and lubricants.
Agroholding intends to complete sowing of rape by August 20, after which it will start sowing of winter wheat and barley, for which 49.7 thousand hectares and 13.1 thousand hectares will be allocated respectively.
The pace of sowing winter wheat and barley will depend on the speed of harvesting the precursor crops. In the regions where Continental operates, the vegetation of spring crops (soybeans, sunflowers, corn) will be prolonged due to delays in development. The reason for this is weather conditions and rather late sowing dates, explained the agroholding.
In addition, the early grain harvest continues on Continental’s fields, which has been harvested from 65% of the planned areas.
“Winter barley threshing is fully completed, with a net yield of 6.39 tons per hectare, which is higher than planned. Winter rape harvest is nearing completion. The net yield of the crop is also higher than planned and is 3.74 tons per hectare”, – stated in the agroholding.
Mriya Agroholding and CFG, united under the name Continental Farmers Group, have been operating as a single business since November 2018, when Mriya made a deal with international investor Salic UK on the sale of assets.
Salic was founded in 2012. Its sole shareholder is the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which invests in agricultural and livestock products.
