KYIV: Ukraine’s 2023 wheat harvest may far exceed official expectations of 17 million metric tons and reach at least 24 million metric tons, traders and analysts said on Wednesday citing farmers’ survey.

The agriculture ministry has said the harvest could decrease sharply in 2023 due to the Russian invasion and occupation of a significant part of the country.

Ukraine harvested around 20 million metric tons of wheat in 2022.

But grain traders union UGA and analysts said this year’s wheat yield could be high.

“The expected yields are quite high, ranging from 3 to 8 metric tons per hectare,” UGA and UkrAgroConsult said in a report, adding that the average yield could reach 5.46 metric tons per hectare.

“Most farms - 64% - expect yields to exceed 5 (metric) tons,” the report said.

UGA said 186 farms and agricultural companies across Ukraine took part in the survey conducted in the second half of June.

The union said that taking into account the agriculture ministry data on winter and spring sowing, this year’s gross harvest could total 24.4 million metric tons in bunker weight or 23.5 to 24 million metric tons in clean weight.

“This is significantly higher than the current market expectations, which we see at 15.6 to 18 million metric tons,” UGA and analysts said.