Ukraine's corn outlook sets new 40m mt record, harvest at 98%

Ukraine's corn harvest has already smashed previous production records and is expected to push even higher as farmers wrap up the last standing acres across the planted area, the latest data from the country's agriculture ministry showed Tuesday.   

Ukrainian farmers have now gathered 40 million mt of corn from 98% of the country's planted area, according to the data, exceeding the previous record volume and is equivalent to a 32% increase versus the total corn output harvested last year.

The figure is already 11% up compared to the previous record, set in 2019, which officially stands at 36 million mt.

That increase has been realised after high corn prices encouraged farmers to plant their largest ever area and came despite average yields falling short of previous records.

The data puts the current average yield at 7.47 mt/ha - in line with the USDA’s projection.

However, overall the USDA has maintained a 40 million mt total outlook, with 32.5 million mt estimated for export potential.

If realised, that would also be a record export volume, while 8.6 million mt of corn has already left the country.