The pace of harvesting in Ukraine in 2024 is much faster than last year

Ukraine has already harvested 75% of its early crops, with 27 million tons of grain and about 4 million tons of rapeseed expected to be produced, Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky said during a national telethon.

“Traditionally, the domestic market consumes about 9-10 million tons of this group, or one third. Therefore, we can clearly understand that 60-65% of these products that are currently being harvested will be exported,” he said on Monday.

Vysotsky also noted that in the 2024 harvesting season, the campaign is going much faster than a year earlier.

“It is indeed an early start. For example, as of July 29, about 20 million tons of early grains were harvested. As of the same date last year, it was 11 million tons, which is a much faster pace,” explained the acting Minister.

According to him, early harvesting is positive for farmers, as they can sell their products earlier and use the proceeds to buy fuel and other material and technical resources to prepare for the autumn field work.

Mr. Vysotsky also emphasized that the weather factor this season has been variable. In the southeast, there was a shortage of precipitation and drought, which will lead to some shortfall in harvest. In the north, west and some central regions, there was sufficient rainfall and high crop yields. Accordingly, the national average will be as expected.

“Thanks to the ability to actively export by sea and through the Ukrainian grain corridor, we actually do not have an excess of carry-over stocks from previous years. The surplus was exported. The harvest plan coincides with the volume of elevator capacities within the country,” Vysotsky said.

He added that there is still a risk of losing the harvested grain in the frontline areas, particularly in large elevators with a capacity of 5-10 thousand tons. The Ministry of Agrarian Policy appealed to international partners to implement international assistance in the frontline regions this year and distribute free of charge 200-tonne sleeves for temporary storage of grain to farmers.

Tags: Ukraine, harvesting