Page 61 - UKRRptNov21

24.51mn tonnes.
Low apple prices lead to a farming crisis. This year’s apple harvest in Ukraine has exceeded demand. This is problematic for farmers as it is impossible to sell fruit profitably, reported Ukraine 24 TV channel. Since the beginning of October, prices have fallen by 20-30%. This is a problem for apple farmers, as they have taken out loans to invest in growing these trees.
Sovecon, a leading Black Sea agricultural markets research firm, on Monday cut its 2021 estimates for Ukraine's corn crop and Russia's wheat crop. The company lowered its estimate for Russia's crop total by 0.1mn tonnes to 75.5mn tonnes and cut its Ukraine corn crop forecast by 1.2mn tonnes to 38.4mn tonnes.
Ukraine's agriculture ministry on October 6 cut its wheat output projection for marketing year 2021-22 (July-June) to 31.55mn mt from 32mn mt pegged earlier, S&P reports.
According to the ministry report, the output may be lower on the year. In MY 2020-21, the country harvested 33mn mt, the ministry said. The likely decline in the output is primarily due to a drop in the estimated area seeded to wheat plantation, traders said.
For MY 2021-22, Ukrainian farmers are expected to sow wheat over 6.68mn hectares against 7.10mn hectares in the previous year, according to the ministry.
Farmers in Ukraine have sown winter wheat across 3.07mn hectares as of October 5, or 46% of the projected area MY 2021-22, the agriculture ministry said on October 6. As of September 27, winter wheat was sown across 1.95mn hectares.
"The long-term average winter wheat planting time frame in Ukraine usually starts from mid-August. However, with the changing climate, farmers are shifting winter drilling a few weeks later, when the average precipitation is higher and temperature regime still allows crops to develop sufficiently prior to dormancy," S&P Global Platts Analytics had said in a report earlier.
According to Platts Analytics, Ukraine is likely to harvest 31.2mn mt of wheat in MY 2021-22.
The US Department of Agriculture has pegged Ukraine's wheat output in MY 2021-22 at 33mn mt, up from 25.4mn mt in MY 2020-21.
According to State Customs Service, Ukraine exported 9.4mn mt of wheat for MY 2021-22 through October 6, down 5% on the year. Until the previous week, wheat exports were 7% lower on the year.
The agriculture ministry has increased its wheat export forecast to 24.5mn mt from 23.8mn mt seen a month ago. In MY 2020-21, Ukraine exported 16.6mn mt of wheat.
Ukraine's wheat exports have been gathering pace over the past few weeks as the rising tax on Russian wheat exports was hampering its
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