Ukraine will sow 20-30% less crops this season compared to the previous years, said Mykola Solsky, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, on May 9.
According to the minister, in addition to Russia's invasion, the sowing campaign is negatively affected by a number of factors, primarily logistics. Farmers and agribusiness spend less money on seeds and herbicides – they save as much as possible. Some agrarian equipment went to the front, and fewer people stayed at work.
There are difficulties with storage of agricultural products and with fuel. The combination of these factors leads to a decrease of the volume of production and to the deterioration of the crop quality.
According to the Ministry, as of May 5, Ukraine has sowed 7.1 million hectares of main agricultural crops, which is 49.3% of the planned for the current season and 80% of the spring sowing plan.
The area under sunflower is 2.4 million hectares, corn – 1.98 million hectares, spring barley – 853.8 thousand hectares, spring wheat – 186.1 thousand hectares, oats – 153.5 thousand hectares, peas – 116.3 thousand hectares.
The area under corn in Ukraine this season will be smaller than last year, as due to the Russian military invasion and the blockade of Ukrainian seaports, farmers consider other crops more necessary to saw.
The main spring crop in Ukraine is corn, but this season farmers are switching to cheaper crops, such as spring wheat, to save money. They also choose crops with the same costs, lower yields, but more valuable: sunflower, rapeseed and soybeans.
As for winter crops, agricultural enterprises have completed their first nitrogen mineral fertilization, and crops are being cared for.
According to the State Statistics Service, 7.6 million hectares were harvested in 2022, which is 0.3 million hectares less than in 2021. In particular:
- wheat and triticale were sown on 6.5 million hectares, which is 0.3 million hectares less than in 2021;
- rye – by 109,000 hectares, or 63,000 hectares less;
- barley – by 969,000 hectares, which is 163,000 hectares less;
- rapeseed – by 1,414,000 hectares, which is 442,000 hectares more.
Read also
Public consultations and restoration. What is Shulyak talking about behind the scenes
Ukraine's Recovery: How to Change Critically Low Citizen Engagement Indicators?
The future has already arrived: blockchain technologies in the global economy and everyday life
