KYIV: Ukrainian farmers have almost completed the sowing of spring wheat for the 2022 harvest and the overall rate of this year’s spring crop sowing is 25% lower than at the same date in 2021, the agriculture ministry said in Friday.

Ukraine plans to sow 14.2 million hectares of spring grains this year, down from 16.9 million hectares in 2021 due to the Russian invasion, the ministry said.

The official data showed that farmers had sown 188,600 hectares of spring wheat, 927,500 hectares of spring barley, 4.170 million hectares of corn and some other commodities.

Ukrainian grain traders union UGA has said the area under spring wheat could total 190,000 hectares, 900,000 hectares of spring barley and 3.9 million hectares of corn.

The agriculture ministry gave no 2022 grain crop outlook. It has said the sowing area could fall 20% this year due to fighting with Russian troops in many regions.