May 27, 2014
Ukraine's 2014 grain harvest may fall to 57.3 million tonnes
Ukraine's grain harvest is expected to drop to 57.3 million tonnes in 2014 from about 63 million tonnes in 2013, according to APK-Inform analyst, Rodion Rybchinsky, who anticipates drops in yield for most crops.
Lower lending from banks and their refusal to provide forward funding has led to a smaller sowing area, which will be the main reason for a fall in grain output.
Rybchinsky said that the Ukrainian wheat harvest could reach 19.2 million tonnes in 2014 versus 22.3 million tonnes in 2013. The corn crop could fall to 29 million tonnes from 30.9 million tonnes in 2013.
He added that the estimates did not include output in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, seized by Russia this month.
According to Ukraine's agriculture ministry, farms had sown 3.7 million acres of early spring grain as of March 24, or 52% of the expected sowing area.
Some analysts said that up to 20% of Ukrainian arable land might not be sown this year, mainly because of financing difficulties due to the country's economic and political problems.