Page 56 - UKRRptMay20

and fear of contracting the Covid-19 virus.
The quarantine has ‘liquidated’ 40% of Ukraine’s 30,000 restaurants and cafes,​ Nikita Poturaev, chairman of the Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, tells Interfax-Ukraine. “12,000 of these 30,000 were liquidated,” he said. “Not in the sense of ‘closed for quarantine,’ but in the sense of ‘liquidated as enterprises.’” He added: “Perhaps some of these 12,000 liquidated enterprises will return. But we do not know how many.”
9.1.6​ Agriculture sector news
Due to a drier than normal winter and spring, this year’s grain crop is expected to be 3-6% lower than last year’s bumper crop of 75mn tons​, estimates UkrAgroConsult. As of two weeks ago, soil moisture at the one meter level was generally 25 to 45% below normal across Ukraine. Despite this problem, 90% of winter wheat crops are rated ‘good’ and ‘satisfactory’ the consultancy reports.
Black Sea wheat prices are up about 18% y/y, ​with most of the runup taking place since the coronavirus crisis hit in early March. While the coronavirus pandemic creates logistical roadblocks and rising unemployment, consumers living in lockdown conditions often prefer wheat products because they are cheaper and have longer shelf lives than perishable items, such as fruit and vegetables.
Looking ahead, next fall’s harvest of grain and oilseeds may reach 95mn tons,​ according to Andriy Kupchenko, analyst at APK-Inform. Although this would be 3% off last year’s crop, the Ukrainian Grain Association predicts that next year’s exports will equal this year’s forecast level of 57mn.
56​ UKRAINE Country Report​ May 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com