Ukraine seen raising sunflower area in 2005

Ukraine's farms are likely to increase the area for the 2005 sunseed crop to up to 4.5 million hectares from 3.8-4.0 million in 2004, analysts said on Tuesday.
Ukraine's leading UkrAgroConsult agriculture constancy said a smaller 2004 sunseed crop and a rise in domestic crushing capacity, which had forced up caused sunseed prices, would prompt farmers to increase the sunflower area next year.
"A jump in sunseed prices in 2004 could cause an increase in area sown to sunflower to up to 4.5 million hectares in 2005," UkrAgroConsult said in a statement. Ukraine sowed 4.1 million hectares to sunflower in 2003 and 3.0 million in 2002.
Ukraine accounts for around 10 percent of the world's sunseed production. In 2003 Ukraine harvested a record 4.2 million tonnes of sunseed but the crop is likely to decline to about 3.2 million tonnes in 2004.
Analysts said domestic sunseed prices jumped to about $292 per tonne ex-farm as of October 25 from about $206 as of August 27.
"Sunflower is the most lucrative agriculture commodity in Ukraine," UkrAgroConsult said. Analysts said an increase in domestic crushing capacity to about four million tonnes was an additional reason for the price rise. The government and analysts have said a fall in the crop and higher local demand would cut sunseed exports to between 70,000 and 200,000 tonnes in the 2004/05 season from more than 900,000 tonnes in 2003/04.
Ukrainian sugar refineries had processed 861,370 tonnes of white sugar from 7.6 million tonnes of sugar beet by October 24, producers' union Ukrtsukor said on Tuesday. Ukraine had produced 921,730 tonnes of white sugar from 8.04 million tonnes of beet by the same date last year. Ukrtsukor said in a statement 119 Ukrainian sugar refineries had started processing.
Ukraine plans to harvest about 16 million tonnes of sugar beet in 2004 and produce 1.6-1.7 million tonnes of white sugar. Ukrainian farms have harvested about 15 million tonnes of beet from about 85 percent of the sown area.
The country, which needs about 2.0 million tonnes of sugar per year, produced 1.45 million in 2003.