USDA experts cut wheat production forecast for Ukraine

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) experts have reduced the forecast for 2019/20 wheat production in Ukraine by 1 million tons vs. the June forecast.

Analysts note that the forecast for wheat production has decreased for Ukraine and the EU as a result of heat waves and lack of precipitation. Despite the projected decrease, the harvest will still be higher than the previous season.

In 2019/20, the production of this grain crop in Ukraine is projected to decrease from 30 million tons to 29 million tons. In the 2018/19 season, USDA forecasts Ukrainian wheat harvest at 25.06 million tons. Thus, in 2019/20 its production should increase by almost 5 million tons. In 2017/18, Ukraine harvested 26.98 million tons of wheat.

Export of wheat from Ukraine is projected to decrease by 0.5 million tons vs. the June forecast and should amount to 19 million tons, while last season export reached 16.2 million tons.

In the current season, wheat production in Ukraine should increase to 28.8 million tons in using an average yield of 4.36 t/ha vs 3.82 t/ha last year.