Drought slowed down winter wheat sowing in Ukraine, but farmers can still meet the plan

The pace of winter wheat sowing is behind the planned pace due to unfavorable weather conditions, but the Ministry of Agrarian Policy maintains its forecast that 4.5-5 million hectares will be sown.

Taras Vysotsky, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, said this during a telethon.

“In fact, wheat sowing is currently underway. It is not yet actively underway because most regions of Ukraine are experiencing drought and lack of soil moisture. We are just at the start of the sowing campaign in terms of volumes. At the same time, in the western regions, in Odesa oblast, the precipitation has passed and favorable conditions are being created for sowing winter crops, including wheat,” explained Vysotskyi.

He reminded that winter wheat can be sown until mid-October, and in some regions until the end of next month. Accordingly, farmers still have time to sow, the official assured.

“Taking into account the weather factors, the plans for sowing winter wheat have not been reduced. The range from 4.5 mln hectares to 5 mln hectares remains relevant. Of course, everything will depend on weather factors. We hope that in the second half of September and October the weather will allow us to implement these plans,” added the First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the drought has slowed down the sowing of winter crops in Ukraine and Russia, which account for more than a quarter of global wheat exports.

At the same time, wheat production in Ukraine fell by about a third after the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia due to the loss of territory. Due to the drought, farmers have so far planted only about half of the area sown as of these dates last year.

As reported earlier, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy stated that difficult weather conditions, in particular drought, did not affect the harvest and crop prices globally. However, the effects of this year’s dry summer may be felt in 2025, especially on winter crops.

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Tags: drought, Ukraine