Ukraine's grain harvest is likely to rise by about 17 percent to 53-54 million tonnes this year, two million tonnes below its record crop of 56 million tonnes in 2011, the Agriculture Ministry said in its first detailed forecast of the season.
"Based on information from the regions, scientific data, our calculations, we can expect the grain harvest at 53-54 million tonnes," the ministry quoted Oleksander Demydov, the head of the planting department, as saying. He gave no more details and explanations, while weather forecasters said earlier this month that better weather conditions could help farmers increase wheat and maize harvest.
Forecasters say the wheat output could rise to 19.3 million tonnes in 2013 from 15.8 million tonnes in 2012. They also said heavy rains in Ukraine's eastern and southern regions would increase the yield of maize. "Weather is favourable for all late crops in eastern and southern regions," Anatoly Prokopenko, deputy head of Ukraine's state weather forecasting centre, told local television on Monday. Ukraine harvested 46.2 million tonnes of grain, including 20.9 million tonnes of maize, in 2012. Analysts have put this year's harvest at around 52 million tonnes, including 20 million tonnes of wheat and about 22 million tonnes of maize.