2 Jun 2023 18:45

Ukraine sows 100% of planned spring grains, 89% of sunflower - ministry

MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax) - Ukrainian farmers are completing the sowing season: in the past week they sowed 193,600 hectares of grain and pulses, compared to 585,200 hectares a week earlier, Ukrainian media reported, citing the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry.

Farmers had sown 5.472 million ha of grains or nearly 100% of the target by June 2. This was down 10.2% from 6.094 million ha by the same date last year. The biggest drops were for corn and spring barley, by 14.5% and 19.2% to 3.893 million ha and 766,100 ha.

The area under millet fell 2.5% to 46,100 ha.

But the spring wheat area grew 42.4% to 269,500 ha, peas - 4.2% to 136,100 ha and buckwheat 54.2% to 106,100 ha.

The sown sunflower area was 5.042 million ha by June 2, 89% of the plan and 10.3% more than a year previously.

The area under sugar beet was 213,100 ha or 97% of target and 18% more than a year ago, and the area under soybeans 1.739 million ha or 94% of target and 45.5% more than a year ago.

Farmers in the Poltava and Kirovograd regions have completed spring sowing.

Ukrainian agricultural producers sowed winter grain crops on 4.5 million ha at the end of last year, including wheat on 3.8 million ha, barley on 613,000 ha, and rye on 79,200 ha. Ukraine also sowed winter rapeseed on 999,000 ha, or 104% of the previously planned area.

The winter wheat area for harvesting in 2023 fell 834,000 ha from the previous year to 4.166 million ha and winter barley 255,000 ha to 536,000 ha.

The Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry said at the end of March that the area under grains and pulses might fall 12% this year to 10.24 million ha and the area under oilseed crops might rise nearly 12% to 8.85 million ha.

On that basis the area under oilseed crops had reached around 8.16 million ha by the beginning of June.