Ukraine fails to cultivate 20% of farmland this year

MOSCOW. Nov 14 (Interfax) - In Ukraine, 20% of farmland is unavailable for cultivation this year compared to pre-crisis 2021, Ukrainian First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky said during a common national telethon, as Ukrainian media reported.

"However, there is no threat to domestic food security," he said.

The domestic consumption of grains, oilseeds and processed products totals 20 million to 25 million tonnes per year at most, Vysotsky said. In 2023, the farmers will grow around 80 million tonnes of grains and oilseeds, which is more than three times the country's needs, he said. Therefore, quite large volumes will be exported.

"There are more challenges," Vysotsky said when asked about the differences in the work of farmers in 2022 and 2023.

"A major challenge was, in particular, internal logistics [...]. There were some difficulties in shipping goods around the country due to the checkpoints and other objective factors," Vysotsky said.