USDA forecasts a 21% drop in Ukrainian wheat production

UkrAgroConsult

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts that wheat production will decline by 21% in 2023 compared to the previous year, mainly due to the war with Russia. Against the backdrop of lower production, exports from Ukraine are expected to fall.

This is stated in the USDA review.

Thus, according to the ministry, in 2023, wheat production in Ukraine will fall to 16.5 million tons from 20.9 million tons last year and 33.01 million tons in 2021.

The harvest of other grain crops in Ukraine is likely to decline to 28.67 million tons from 34.06 million tons in 2022.

In terms of crops, the following harvest results are forecasted: corn will be harvested at 22 million tons (27 million tons in 2022), barley – 5.9 million tons (6.18 million tons), and oats – 350 thousand tons (390 thousand tons).

Ukraine’s wheat exports in 2023/24 marketing year will amount to 10 mln tonnes, compared to 15 mln tonnes in the current marketing year. The Ministry also published its forecast for corn exports: it is expected to drop by 16.5 mln tons compared to 25.5 mln tons in the previous period.

As a reminder, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy predicts that this year Ukraine will be able to plant almost as much acreage as last year. This will allow us to grow at least twice as much as Ukrainians consume, and to maintain the export potential of the agricultural sector at the level of the previous year – more than $20 billion.

At the same time, the agency predicts that farmers will increase the area under oilseeds and partially reduce the area under grains and corn.

Tags: Ukraine, USDA Report, wheat, crop forecast