Ukraine's MHP starts planting winter crops, continues harvest early grains

MOSCOW. Aug 14 (Interfax) - MHP, one of Ukraine's largest agribusiness groups, has begun planting winter crops for harvest in 2024, Ukrainian media reported, citing the group's press service.

Planting began with rapeseed, for which the group will allocate 37,000 hectares, 12% more than last year. After planting rapeseed, the group will start sowing winter wheat on 50,000 hectares, 25% more than in 2022.

Planting is underway at group farms in the Vinnitsia, Lvov and Sumy regions. MHP plans to grow winter crops in all 12 regions of Ukraine in which it has farms.

"We began winter planting according to the planned schedule. We are fully supplied with seeds, mineral fertilizers, protection agents and fuel and lubricants," MHP agriculture director Sergei Dobrogorsky was quoted as saying by the press service.

Concurrently, MHP is harvesting early grains and has already brought in 345,000 tonnes and threshed 64,000 hectares, or almost 88% of the planted area. The rapeseed harvest has been completed with a yield of 4.0 tonnes per hectare. Winter wheat has been threshed from 77% of the crop area and the yield is expected to exceed 6.5 tonnes/ha.

MHP said its crop farming division planted 352,500 hectares in 12 regions of Ukraine, including grains and oil crops on 255,500 hectares, and niche and industrial crops on the remainder.

MHP is Ukraine's largest chicken producer and also makes processed meat products, grows grains and produces sunflower oil. MHP supplies chilled chicken half carcasses to the European market that are subsequently processed, including at group plants in the Netherlands and Slovakia. MHP's founder, majority shareholder and CEO is Ukrainian businessman Yury Kosyuk.