Ukrainian farmers might plant less corn, more soybean and rapeseed in 2024 - Agrarian Policy Ministry

MOSCOW. Feb 14 (Interfax) - Ukrainian farmers plan to expand soybean, rapeseed and sugar beet crop areas while reducing the corn crop area, Ukrainian media reported, citing a statement from the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry on the results of a survey on preparations for planting of spring crops for harvest in 2024.

The ministry said 70% of respondents said they plan to expand soybean crop areas by an average of 21% compared to 2023.

Farmers also plan to expand the grain legume crop area by 11% and the spring barley crop area by 7%. The growth of interest in barley might be due to the expansion of the geography of marine shipments. The planting of spring wheat will expand by 2%, the ministry forecast.

Farmers are also interested in growing spring rapeseed, with some planning to plant this crop for the first time. The overall rapeseed crop area is expected to increase by 24%.

Furthermore, 60% of farmers who grew sugar beet in 2023 plan to expand planting of this crop and the crop area is expected to increase by 17% nationwide.

However, the corn crop area will shrink by 9%. The sunflower crop area could also potentially decrease, but most farmers have not yet made a final decision on how much of this crop they will plant.

The overall area planted with spring crops in 2024 could shrink by 0.5 million hectares or 3.7% from last season, the ministry said.