Ukraine 2018 crop production stable as lower yields balance expanded area: UAAS
Ukraine’s gross crop production in 2018 will remain steady as lower yields offset a small increase in area, the Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences has projected.
Overall, Ukraine is poised to produce 61.7 million mt of cgrains against a total of 62.2 million mt in 2017, with a net worth of UAH 179.8 billion ($6.6 billion), according to the data published by the Ukrainian Grain Association Tuesday.
Wheat is likely to see a fall in overall production, with the forecast projecting a 25 million mt crop, a fall of 6.3% based on a fall in the yield to 38.8 mt per hectare.
That will overpower a slight 1.7% increase in the overall area.
Corn production is set for a near 10% increase taking the crop to 26.3 million mt, as farmers look to bounce back from a disappointing start to the 2017/18 crop, where exports have been slow and competition fierce.
Elsewhere, lower yields are expected to be a problem for a number of Ukraine’s agricultural products, although spring grains are expected to see a 6.8% increase to 33.2 million mt in total.
Oilseeds will also see increases with rapeseed production set to reach 2.6 million mt, up 17.3%, while soybeans are set to increase 10.8% as Ukraine looks to cash in on its established trading links with the Asian markets.
The gross harvest of soybeans should reach 4.3 million mt, potentially enabling Ukraine to further exploit trade routes to China, which has been a major buyer of Ukraine corn in recent years.
Some 1 million mt of corn is thought to have already headed to China this year, with analysts expecting that volume to at least double through the rest of the marketing year.
Sunflower, one of Ukraine’s staple crops, is also expected to see production recover with a 4.8% increase taking total production to 12.63 million mt.
The most recent USDA WASDE report puts Ukraine’s 2017/18 corn production at 24.12 million mt, with wheat at 26.98 million mt – a figure it increased from 26.5 million mt in the February edition.