Harvest-2023: Ukrainian farmers collected the first million tons of grain

As of July 6, Ukrainian farmers have already collected 1.024 million tons of grain and leguminous crops of the new harvest. According to the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine, the crop was harvested on an area of 308.2 thousand hectares. Currently, it is known that farmers of 12 oblasts are harvesting early grain and leguminous crops. 3% of the total area was harvested. The yield is 33.2 quintals per hectare. In particular, barley was harvested on an area of 235 thousand hectares with a yield of 34.3 quintals (805.8 thousand tons threshed), wheat - on 51.4 thousand hectares with a yield of 33.5 quintals (172 thousand tons threshed); peas - on 21.7 thousand hectares with a yield of 21.1 quintals (45.8 thousand tons threshed). According to the Ministry, the leaders in grain harvesting are the agrarians of Mykolaiv Oblast, who threshed 118,000 hectares, and the largest threshing was done by Odesa agrarians (468,800 tons). In addition, agricultural producers of five oblasts have started harvesting winter rapeseed. The seeds of this crop were threshed on an area of 47.7 thousand hectares. 86.2 thousand tons have already been collected with a yield of 18.1 quintals.

We will remind you that earlier the Ukrainian Grain Association updated the forecast of the potential harvest of grain and oil crops in Ukraine this year, increasing it by 1 million tons compared to the previous estimate - up to 69 million tons. The smaller volume of the future harvest compared to previous seasons is due to the occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine, mining, hostilities, and the lack of funds and other resources for farmers for a full-fledged sowing campaign and crop cultivation. According to UZA, a total of about 19.7 million hectares have been sown, compared to an average of 25 million hectares in previous years. Of course, much depends on further weather conditions, which have so far been favorable for grain and oil crops.

At the same time, under these conditions, the export of grain and oilseeds from Ukraine in the 2023/24 season may amount to 44.8 million tons, while in the 2022-23 marketing year, this figure, according to UZA, was 58 million tons. In general, the export of grain and oilseeds in 2023/24 MR can be expected at the specified level, if the operation of Ukrainian Black Sea ports is maintained and alternative routes are actively developed, in particular the Danube route.