Ukrainian agrarians have completed the spring sowing season, during which 7.2 million hectares were sown with oilseeds, and about 5.6 million hectares with cereals and legumes, which is 22.6% above the forecast, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported.
According to the report, agrarians have sown more than 99% of the projected areas of spring cereals and legumes. They allocated 3.93 million hectares for corn, which amounted to 100.4% of the projected area, barley – 783 thousand hectares (95.7%), wheat – 252.7 thousand hectares (102.6%), oats – 163.7 thousand hectares (100.7%), peas – 162.5 thousand hectares (101.6%), buckwheat – 100.8 thousand hectares (80.7%), millet – 69.7 thousand hectares (81.8%).
5.19 million hectares (98%) have been allocated for sunflowers, 2.03 million hectares (102%) for soybeans.
Sugar beet is sown on 250.1 thousand hectares (97%).
As reported, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy in April forecasted the sown area of grain and leguminous crops in 2024 at the level of 10.6 million hectares, which is 395 thousand hectares lower than in 2023.
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy expects gross production of grain and oilseeds in 2024 at the level of 74 million tons, of which about 52.4 million tons – grains, 21.7 million tons – oilseeds.
Agrarians in 2024 will be able to harvest 19.2 million tons of wheat (22.2 million tons were harvested in 2023), 4.9 million tons of barley (5.7 million tons), 26.7 million tons of corn (30.5 million tons), 5.2 million tons of soybeans (4.7 million tons), 12.4 million tons of sunflower (12.9 million tons), 4.1 million tons of rapeseed (4.7 million tons).
Agrarians of all regions of Ukraine have threshed 57.6 million tons of grain and oilseeds, including 39.228 million tons of cereals and 18.457 million tons of oilseeds, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported. According to the message, harvesting of grain and leguminous crops was carried out on the area of 8275.3 thousand hectares with a yield of 47.4 c/ha.
To date, Ukraine has completed collection and threshing of barley from 1505 thousand hectares (101% of the plan), which received 5.863 million tons, wheat – from 4695 thousand hectares (101%) collected 22.210 million tons, peas – from 154.4 thousand hectares (103%) received 396.8 thousand tons, as well as rape – from 1396 thousand hectares (98%) received 4.005 million tons of seeds.
Harvesting of millet, which from 77.4 thousand hectares (93%) received 162.4 thousand tons, and buckwheat – from 136.6 thousand hectares (97%) threshed 203.6 thousand tons. Corn from 1376.7 thousand hectares (34%) was threshed 9.282 million tons
In addition, 961.6 thousand tons of other cereals and leguminous crops were threshed from 331.2 thousand hectares.
Ukraine continues harvesting oilseeds, in particular, sunflower – 10.211 million tons (9.042 million tons a week earlier) from the area of 4.358 million hectares (86%), soybeans – 4.2411 million tons (3.776 million tons) from 1.641 million hectares (91%).
Sugar beet was dug from the area of 125.3 thousand hectares (96.4 thousand hectares a week earlier), which amounted to 50% of the planned area. It was received 5.912 million tons.
In connection with the revision of the forecast, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy monitors information on yields of all crops. Thus, wheat yield amounted to 47.6 c/ha, barley – 39 c/ha, peas – 25.7 c/ha, millet – 21 c/ha, buckwheat – 14.9 c/ha. Corn yield – 67.4 c/ha, rapeseed – 28.7 c/ha, soybean – 25.8 c/ha, sunflower – 23.4 c/ha. Yield of sugar beet – 471.9 c/ha.
As reported, winter wheat sowing this season amounted to 4166 thousand hectares (-834 thousand hectares to the previous season), winter barley – 536 thousand hectares (-255 thousand hectares), rape – 1374 thousand hectares (+110 thousand hectares).
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy noted that agrarians of Kyiv, Kirovograd, Mykolayiv, Poltava, Sumy, Cherkasy and Khmelnytskyi regions threshed more than 2 million tons of grain in each region. In Odessa, Vinnitsa and Dnipropetrovsk regions – more than 3 million tons each. Zaporizhzhya region has completed harvesting of grain crops.
According to the adjusted forecast of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, in 2023 agrarians will be able to harvest 79.1 million tons of grain and oilseeds, of which grain crops will be produced in the following volumes: wheat – 21.7 million tons, barley – 5.7 million tons and corn – 28.5 million tons. Gross production of oilseeds will reach 21.6 million tons, in particular, sunflower – 13 million tons, rapeseed – 4 million tons, soybeans – 4.6 million tons. The sugar beet harvest is forecasted at 13.7 million tons.
As reported, at the beginning of spring 2023, the total gross harvest for the current year was forecast at 63.5 million tons, or 13% less than in 2022. In June, after harvest began, the forecast was raised to 68 million tons, (7% less). In early September, due to favorable weather conditions, the forecast was revised upward to 76.7 million tons.
Representatives of Ukrainian agrarian business are asking President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal not to allow the merger of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry for Strategic Industries into a single executive body – the Ministry of Economic Development of Ukraine.
According to the web-site of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB), agricultural sector is vital for the country’s economy, and therefore it is logical and necessary for business and society to have a specialized central authority responsible for the development of agricultural policy, restoration of the agricultural sector after the war, ensuring the volume of agricultural production and supply of agricultural products to the world markets.
According to her data, besides UCAB, the appeal was also signed by the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Forum, the Agrarian Union of Ukraine, the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Rada, the Union of Poultry Farmers of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation.
“Ukraine is a state with a multiform economy, and agriculture and agribusiness are vital for ensuring economic recovery, food security, stability of the national currency and social protection of the population. The weight of Ukraine’s agricultural sector has increased significantly since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. The role of Ukraine as an agricultural state is noted by the world leaders and organizations”, – stresses the appeal.
It is noted that agribusiness supports the creation of a government center, which will report to the prime minister and will coordinate strategies and programs to restore the Ukrainian economy.
“The abolition of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy will lead to negative consequences both in the agri-food sector and in the state economy as a whole, and will also cause concern of foreign partners and threaten the establishment of export supplies of Ukrainian food to countries in need,” the statement says.
UCAB also refers to international experience, according to which most countries with a developed agricultural sector have a separate central executive body responsible solely for shaping their agricultural policies. These include, in particular, the U.S., Canada, Turkey, almost all EU member countries (except Austria), which have authorities responsible solely for agriculture and food.
“Taking into account the above mentioned, the leading public associations of agroindustrial complex urge to take into account the opinion of the agrarian sector when optimizing the number of central executive authorities, ensuring the existence of one separate specialized body of state power of national level, which will be responsible for provision of food security and ensuring effective functioning of agrarian sector, especially in postwar period”, – points out the statement of agribusiness representatives.
As reported the day before Ukrainian media reported on the possible merger of Ministry of Agrarian Policy with Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Agrarian Policy to Ministry of Economic Development.
Thus, it was reported that at a meeting of President Zelenskyy with members of the government on November 8, a relevant concept of consolidation of ministries in Ukraine from 20 to 14.
Earlier, in June 2022, the media reported plans to merge the Ministry of Agrarian Policy with the Ministry of Economy into the new Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation by the end of 2022. It was also planned to generally reduce the number of ministries in the country from the existing 20 to 12.
In August 2019, the Verkhovna Rada merged the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and the Ministry of Economy into the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture. However, in 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers reconstituted the Ministry of Agrarian Policy by canceling its merger with the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture and set the number of employees at 203, after which the Ministry again began to operate as a separate structure.
