Ukraine will produce at least 80 million tons this year Grain crop and Oilseeds harvest, which corresponds to the indicators of the peaceful season 2016-2017.
Such a forecast was made by Deputy Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Rada (UAR) Denys Marchuk at a briefing at the Ukraine – Ukrinform media center.
He recalled that local farmers have already harvested more grain this year than in all of 2022: 72 million tons versus 68 million tons.
“And this indicator will continue to improve. Because the mass harvest of Corn continues. Many people do not intend to finish this harvest, but instead leave it in the field because it is unprofitable. Nevertheless, we will have a figure of at least 80 million tonnes. That's as much as was harvested in the quiet years of 2016-2017. Therefore, we understand that in the conditions of war we are talking about a very good result,” the expert emphasized.
At the same time, the export volume of products grown by farmers this marketing season (from July 1) is much lower than in the past.
“Unfortunately, we are already 30 percent behind last year’s grain exports. So far we have only been able to export just over 9 million tonnes of agricultural raw materials, while export figures at this time last year were over 14 million tonnes. Let me remind you that at that time the grain initiative worked: despite the problems artificially created by Russia, ships were actively transporting grain. Now we rely mainly only on the possibilities of land and river routes. Of course, the humanitarian corridor created by our military also helps,” said Marchuk.
He recalled that despite the difficulties in October, we managed to improve export performance and sell about 4,8 million tons of grain and oilseeds abroad. Thanks to the work of the humanitarian corridor, domestic purchasing prices for agricultural raw materials have increased for the first time in recent memory, as farmers were previously often forced to sell grain below cost price. The positive aspects also include the reduction in freight costs for ships calling at the Danube ports.
At the same time, the deputy head of the CAP recalled the increasing problems on land routes: since November 6th, Polish freight forwarders have been blocking all movement of goods across the border.
“Thousands of vehicles are stuck in traffic jams. This means additional financial losses. Now it is difficult to calculate what sums we are talking about because the dialogue to resolve the situation is still ongoing. But according to my data, we are now talking about delays on routes of 4-6 days,” Marchuk added.
Source: Ukragroconsult (Ukraine)