"Almost record yield." Ukraine expecting to harvest more grain than in 2022
Ukraine is expected to see a much better harvest of grains and oilseeds than previously forecast thanks to favorable weather conditions, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy announced in a statement on its website.
If at the beginning of the spring of 2023, the ministry expected gross collection at the level of 63.5 million tons (13% less than last year), now it is forecast at the level of 76.7 million tons (5% more than last year).
And this is despite the fact that the total area of spring and winter grain crops this year was 980,000 hectares fewer than last year.
"Weather conditions contributed to an almost record yield of grain crops (up to 51.8 t/ha), which allows for a significant increase in crop production," the ministry said.
According to preliminary estimates, in 2023, Ukraine will harvest 20.9 million tons of wheat, 5.8 million tons of barley, and 28.1 million tons of corn.
The gross production of oil crops will reach 20.3 million tons (550,000 tons fewer than last year), in particular, sunflower – 12.0 million tons, soybeans – 4.2 million tons, rapeseed – 4.0 million tons. Sunflower and soybeans are the only major crops where a decrease in yield is predicted.
The sugar beet harvest will increase from 9.9 million tons to 13.7 million tons.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, as of the beginning of August, 16.7 million tons of grain of the new crop were collected in Ukraine. Harvesting of early grain and leguminous crops as of the beginning of August was carried out on an area of 3.7 million hectares with a yield of 44 t/ha.
On April 11, 2023, the UN predicted that the wheat harvest in Ukraine would be much lower than the average, but almost a record globally.
At the beginning of August, the Ukrainian Grain Association published a new forecast for the future harvest. It expects a gross harvest of 76.8 million tons of grain and oil crops. Exports in the current season of 2023/2024 can potentially amount to about 48 million tons.