Ukraine’s grain exports currently stand at around 40 mln t — Deputy Minister Vysotskyi

Weather conditions have caused losses of about 386,000 hectares of crops in Ukraine, while yields on 1.2 million hectares have dropped by 30–50%, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Taras Vysotskyi told BiznesCenzor in an interview.

The most affected areas are the southwestern part of Dnipropetrovsk region, as well as large parts of Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Kherson regions. Drought also impacted farmland in Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.

“Currently, grain exports are at around 40 million tons. Without the drought, it would have been 43 million tons. A potential 8% reduction in exports will not significantly affect overall volumes,” Vysotskyi said.

He added that irrigation in the affected regions could have prevented these losses.

“Although the harvest has not yet been gathered, theoretically those regions could have produced 3–4 million tons of grains and oilseeds,” Vysotskyi noted.

The Ministry of Economy expects a total grain harvest of 56 million tons, including:

• 21.5 mln t of wheat,
• 5 mln t of barley,
• 28.5 mln t of corn.

Oilseed harvest is projected at:

• 3 mln t of rapeseed,
• about 5 mln t of soybeans,
• around 12 mln t of sunflower seeds.

In total, the ministry forecasts 76 million tons of grains and oilseeds.