Ukraine to plant spring crops on 80% of areas sown last year - PM Shmyhal

KYIV. April 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukraine may sow around 14.2 million hectares during this year's spring sowing campaign, which is 80% of the 16.9 million hectares sown last year, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said before a government meeting on Tuesday.

"As of April 18, the projected area to be sown with key spring crops is 14.2 million hectares in [Kyiv-] controlled territories. It is 2.7 million hectares fewer than last year. In other words, in actual fact, this year we will sow more than 80% of last year's areas with spring crops," Shmyhal said.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said earlier that 13.44 million hectares would be sown with spring crops in 2022, down from last year's 16.92 million hectares.

As reported, deputy head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's Office Rostislav Shurma said in mid-March that Ukraine's target for 2022 would be to secure the size of harvest of at least 70% of last year's harvest.

This opinion was echoed by First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskiy, who said that in 2022 Ukraine could plant spring crops on at least 70% of the areas that were sown in 2021. Around 10% of the country's cultivation areas may not be used in 2022 for various reasons, Vysotskiy said.