Ukraine is likely to increase its spring barley area by nearly seven percent this year to 4.298 million hectares, the Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday.
But the ministry's official estimate is below the forecast of independent analysts, who predict about 4.9 million hectares of spring barley. Ukraine sowed 4.021 million hectares in 2005.
Announcing its 2006 spring grain sowing plan, the ministry also said farms were likely to increase spring wheat area to a record 615,000 hectares from 480,000 hectares in 2005.
Earlier this year, the ministry had forecast spring wheat area would be near 1 million hectares in 2006. It gave no reason for lowering its forecast, but analysts cited a shortage of seeds, unfavourable weather and a lack of new technology. Ukraine is traditionally a producer of winter wheat, which accounts for about 90 percent of its total wheat harvest.
But drought in 2005 and severe cold in early 2006 have damaged at least 1 million hectares of winter wheat and the harvested area is unlikely to exceed 4.1 million hectares in 2006 compared with 5.99 million in 2005.
Analysts have forecast the 2006 wheat harvest could fall to between 9 million and 12 million tonnes from 18.7 million in 2005 and 17.5 million in 2004. The Agriculture Ministry said it forecast the area to be sown to peas at 341,000 hectares this year compared with 330,000 hectares in 2005.
The area under oats could total 478,000 hectares compared with 471,000 hectares last year, it said. The ministry added Ukraine had already sown 1.751 million hectares to early grain out of the total area of 5.893 million. It had sown 2.343 million to early grain by the same date in 2005.
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