Ukraine grain harvest 97% complete

Ukrainian farms had harvested 53.2 million tonnes of grain in bunker weight from 97% of the expected area as of Feb. 2, informed agriculture ministry on Friday.

The ministry said farmers had harvested 11.1 million hectares of crops, with the grain yield averaging 4.79 tonnes per hectare.

It said farmers had completed the 2022 wheat and barley harvests, threshing 20.2 million and 5.8 million tonnes respectively.

The total volume also included 25.9 million tonnes of corn, harvested from 91% of the expected area, with a yield of 6.72 tonnes per hectare.

In 2021 Ukraine harvested 32.2 million tonnes of wheat and 9.4 million tonnes of barley. The ministry has said that a fall in output in 2022 was caused by hostilities in the country’s eastern, northern and southern regions.

Ukraine sowed more than 6 million hectares of winter wheat for the 2022 harvest, but a large area was occupied after Russia’s invasion and only 4.9 million hectares were harvested in Ukrainian-controlled territory.

The ministry said that farmers also harvested 10.5 million tonnes of sunflower seeds from 99% of the planted area and 9.1 million tonnes of sugar beet from 100% of the area.

The government has said Ukraine’s 2022 crop could total about 51 million tonnes in clean weight, down from a record 86 million tonnes in 2021, because of the loss of land to Russian forces and lower yields.

Bunker weight is 5% to 7% higher than clean weight as grains should be dried and cleaned.

The economy ministry this week said Ukraine’s grain harvest may decrease again in 2023 to 49.5 million tonnes.

Tags: barley, winter wheat, crops, wheat, yield, sunflower seeds, Ukraine, harvest, corn, grain