Grain yields have doubled since Ukraine’s independence

The gross production of grains and pulses since Ukraine’s independence (1991-2023) has increased by almost 55%, reaching 59.8 million tons last year.

This is according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine.

At the same time, the sugar beet harvest in Ukraine decreased by 64% to 13.13 mln tons. The gross harvest of sunseed in 2023 amounted to 12.76 mln tons, which is 5.5 times more than in 1991. Potato production in Ukraine also increased by 47% to 21.4 mln tons.

Since independence, the area under grain has decreased by 25% to almost 11 million hectares. Last year, according to the State Statistics Service, farmers planted sugar beet on 250 thousand hectares, which is more than 6 times less than the area under this crop in 1991 (1.56 million hectares). Potatoes were also planted on less land – 1.2 million hectares (-21%). However, the sunflower area has increased by 3.2 times over the years and amounted to 5.22 million hectares.

At the same time, the average yield for the reporting period increased for all the crops reported: cereals and legumes – by half, to 55.2 c/ha; sugar beet – by 2.2 times, to 525 c/ha; sunseed – by 68%, to 24.5 c/ha; potatoes – by 86%, to 177 c/ha.

Tags: Ukraine, grain, sunseed, potato