Gathering corn harvest remaining in Ukrainian fields to take from several weeks to several months - deputy minister
MOSCOW. Nov 30 (Interfax) - Corn in Ukraine is still unharvested on 47% of the sown area, and the harvesting of the remaining 11-12 million tonnes of corn will take from several weeks to several months.
Nevertheless, this year's corn crop will be harvested, as Ukraine already has a successful experience of harvesting corn in winter, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Taras Vysotsky told Ukrainian journalists on the sidelines of the EBA 2022 Infrastructure Day conference.
"There are still 11-12 million tonnes of corn left in the fields. It will be possible to harvest it, but depending on weather conditions, it can take from several weeks to several months. Ukraine has an experience of harvesting it in previous years. It all depends on weather factors - it can stand in the fields until spring, if there are favorable factors like humidity, then it will definitely be harvested. The pace of harvesting will also depend on the weather factor," Vysotsky said when commented on the harvesting campaign.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said earlier that a total of 13.5 million tonnes of corn, or 53% of the sown amount, had been harvested from 2.2 million hectares by November 25.
The GrainTrade grain exchange last week reported adverse weather conditions in Ukraine, a circumstance which makes it more likely that the unharvested corn crop will be left in the fields for the winter. This will cause a reduction in the supply of corn from the new harvest, which, in turn, will lead to the instability of deliveries to ports and an increase in purchase prices for it on the domestic market.
"The probability that some of the corn harvest in Ukraine will remain in the fields for the winter is growing. Heavy rains in the fall slowed down harvesting and increased the moisture content of corn to 28-32%, which, amid high drying costs and low prices for corn, makes harvesting impractical. In November, snow stopped field work altogether, and the weather like this will continue for at least another two weeks," GrainTrade said last week.