Ukraine's 2008 grain harvest jumped to a record 53.3 million tonnes in clean weight from 29.3 million tonnes in 2007, a senior official from Ukraine's State Statistics Committee said on Monday. "The preliminary figure of Ukraine's grain harvest in 2008 is 53.3 million tonnes," the official told Reuters.
Later on Monday the committee said in a statement the 2008 wheat crop had risen to 25.9 million tonnes from 13.94 million in 2007. The barley harvest rose to 12.61 million from 5.98 a year earlier.
It said the 2008 maize harvest totalled 11.42 million tonnes against 7.42 million in 2007. The Agriculture Ministry had said the 2008 crop was likely to reach at least 51 million tonnes, while Kiev-based analyst group UkrAgroConsult had forecast 52.2 million tonnes. The Economy Ministry last month said the 2009 harvest might total 45 million tonnes, while UkrAgroConsult forecast this year's crop at 45.3 million tonnes. The country consumes up to 26 million tonnes of grain per year.
Ukraine increased grain exports to 2.19 million tonnes in December 2008 from 2.12 million tonnes a month earlier, Kiev-based UkrAgroConsult said on Monday, quoting preliminary official data. The consultancy said in a statement wheat exports fell to 1.09 million tonnes in December from 1.24 million in November, while exports of barley rose to 637,000 tonnes from 579,600 tonnes a month earlier.