Ukraine: Winter grain sowing 65.2% complete

Ukraine’s agriculture ministry said on October 16 that farmers had sown around 3.3 million hectares of winter grain crops as of Oct. 16, or 65.2% of the expected area, Reuters reported.

The area included 3.02 million hectares of winter wheat, or 69.3% of the expected area, the ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine is a traditional grower of winter wheat, which accounts for at least 95% of its overall wheat output.

Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky said this month that Ukraine was likely to sow less winter wheat than it initially expected for the 2024 harvest due to the prolonged absence of rain across most regions.

Solsky gave no exact figure for the acreage that could be sown this year while the ministry has still expected a sowing area of 4.36 million hectares.

The ministry also said farmers had sown 260,000 hectares of winter barley and 1.12 million hectares of winter rapeseed.

Producers plan to sow 692,100 hectares of winter barley and 1.2 million hectares of winter rapeseed this year.

Farmers sowed 4.46 million hectares of winter wheat, 612,200 hectares of winter barley and 1.376 million hectares of winter rapeseed for the 2023 harvest.

Ukraine is expected to harvest 79 million tons of grain and oilseed in 2023, with a 2023/24 exportable surplus total of about 50 million tons.

17 October, 2023