Page 68 - UKRRptFeb19

At the top of that, 13.7mn tonnes of sunflower, 4.4mn tonnes of soybeans, 2.6mn tonnes of rapeseeds were harvested and 13mn tonnes of sugar beets were dug.
The largest grain harvest was recorded in the Poltava region (6.4mn tonnes). Some 6.1mn tonnes was harvested in the Vinnytsia region and 4.8mn tonnes in the Cherkasy region. The highest yield for grain and leguminous crops was in the Cherkasy region (7.28 tonnes per ha), as well as in the Khmelnytsky region (7.16 tonnes per ha) and the Vinnytsia region (7.13 tonnes per ha).
In November, Kyiv warned that grain shipments from Ukrainian ports on the Azov Sea could fall if Russia commits more aggressive actions. The statement followed a dramatic escalation of a Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Azov Sea, when Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian Navy's boats, capturing three vessels with around two dozen sailors.
The Ukrainian military command said it believes that Russia may attempt to seize two Ukrainian cities near the Azov Sea, specifically, Mariupol in the Donetsk region and Berdiansk in the Zaporizhia region.
On November 26, Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, greenlighted the introduction of martial law in a number of regions of Ukraine for a period of 30 days from November 28. According to Poroshenko’s media office, martial law will be introduced in the Vinnytsia, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Kherson regions, as well as the internal waters of the Azov-Kerch water area.
Recovering from the loss of Crimea, Ukrainian winemakers produced 5.5% more wine last year , hitting almost 20mn decaliters. Vineyards in sunny southern Ukraine accounted for almost all the grapes: Odesa – 52%; Mykolayiv –36%; and Kherson – 11%.
Through November, farm production was up 8.2%, compared to the first 11 months of last year , the State Statistics Service reports. Crop production was up 11.2%. But animal husbandry barely budged, rising by 0.4%. The number of cows dropped by 4% and the number of pigs fell by 3.2%. Chickens were up 4.1%. Dragon writes: “We expect stronger harvesting results to remain the main sector driver, eclipsing tiny growth in animal farming.”
Ukraine’s production of grain and oilseeds has doubled in less than two decades , Nikolai Gorbachev, president of the Ukrainian Grain Association, tells reporters in Kyiv. By July 1, the end of the marketing year, Ukraine should harvest 92mn tons of grain and oilseeds, compared to 42mn tons in 2001. The 50mn increase comes, he says, “despite the fact that we practically did not expand sown areas.”
The Sea of Azov is Ukraine’s largest source of fish . Through November, the State Fisheries Agency reports, the Azov had twice the fish catch of the Black Sea: 16,100 tons from the Azov versus 8,300 tons from the far larger Black Sea. The Black Sea catch was up 64% over 2017 levels, possibly because Ukrainian fishing companies are shifting from the Azov. Maksym Martiniuk, who as Agriculture Minister oversees the Fisheries Agency, warns: “These successes were tarnished by the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation, which casts doubt on the continued unobstructed possibility of fishing in the Sea of Azov.”
Ukrainian sugar production companies reported as output at 1.44mn tonnes of sugar as of December 4 , according to the Ukrtsukor national
68 UKRAINE Country Report February 2019 www.intellinews.com