In spite of the war raging in Ukraine, Ukrainian farmers are managing to continue sowing crops – against a backdrop of mined fields, fuel shortages, seeds transported from warehouses on fire and stolen products. Spring crops in Ukraine were planted on 14,000 hectares, almost three thousand hectares less than last year. Looking at these figures, the feeling is that Ukraine will be able to feed its citizens and export.
"The structure of sown areas has not changed much in the main crops. Spring wheat was sown almost the same as last year. The same goes for barley, oats, and buckwheat. However, the area with corn and sunflower has decreased: 4.62 thousand hectares and 4.68 thousand hectares in 2022 against 5.47 thousand hectares and 6.50 thousand hectares in 2021, respectively," explains Suzana Grigorenko, Executive Director of the Seed Association of Ukraine.
The area of planted soybeans and spring rapeseed oil has increased, as farmers chose soy, spring wheat, or other crops to plant. This is due to the need to handle corn more carefully and the fact that corn is an export crop. As a result, farmers decided to plant late-season crops, such as soybeans, crops that required less processing, crops that can be sold abroad as raw materials and processed once in Ukraine, and crops that don't require large capacities for transportation.
"This year, we saw a demand for crops that, on the one hand, give a lower gross harvest," says the Seed Association. "For example, the average yield of rapeseed or soybeans is 25-30 centners per hectare against 55-65 centners per hectare of wheat or 80 centners per hectare of corn. However, these crops are more expensive."
Logistics were also considered, with regards to the transportation and storage of products. Grain from the 2021 harvest is still sitting in warehouses in Ukraine. Corn needs to be dried after harvesting and provided with good storage conditions so it can be exported. All of these logistics led to the decision on the part of farmers to avoid planting corn or wheat and potentially lose the harvest altogether.
The number of sunflowers decreased significantly, as 'sunflower regions' – Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and other regions – minimally sowed this crop. In 2021, Kherson planted 338,000 hectares, whereas in 2022 this was 8600 hectares. The differences between 2021 and 2022 are stark for all mentioned regions – Zaporizhia planted 531,000 hectares in 2021 and 60,000 hectares in 2022, while Donetsk planted 349,000 hectares in 2021 and 195,000 in 2022.
The critical situation rests in the Luhansk region, where active hostilities continue. Sunflowers were growing on an area of 427,000 hectares while this year, they were unable to sow anything. This was picked up by regions who increased their sowing of this crop, including regions not known for growing sunflower which includes Rivne, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankisvk regions.
It's a very likely possibility that due to the war, winter crops won't be harvested and there won't be crops for the 2022-23 season.
For more information on the Seed Association of Ukraine visit their website, HERE.
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
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