Ukraine faces unfavourable weather conditions for winter sowing – forecasters

The prolonged absence of rain in most Ukrainian regions have created unfavourable conditions for sowing and development of winter crops, Ukraine’s state weather forecasters informed.

Ukraine is a traditional grower of winter wheat which accounts for around 95% of the overall wheat output.

“The conditions for soil moisture accumulation remained extremely unfavourable,” forecasters said in a report.

The forecasters say most of the regions saw no rain for 30-40 days and “soil drought continues and deepens in 50-60% of areas under winter sowing.”

The agriculture ministry data showed that farmers sowed 513,700 hectares to winter wheat as of Sept. 22, or 11.8% of the expected area of 4.4 million hectares.

Ukraine harvested 22.2 million tonnes of wheat in 2023.

Tags: unfavourable, soil drought, Ukraine, winter crops, rain, output, sowing