Page 72 - UKRRptSept21

9.1.6 Agriculture sector news
Ukrainian farmers finalized the harvesting campaign of early crops with a total harvest of 43.7 mmt from an area of 6.9mn ha (98% of the total land sown) as of Aug 19, the Agrarian Ministry reported on Aug 20. The average grain yield rose 25.3% y/y to 4.4 t/ha. Wheat was harvested from 6.9mn ha with an average yield of 4.6 t/ha, a 21.5% y/y rise. Barley was harvested from 2.4mn ha with an average yield of 4.1 t/ha, which is 26.2% higher y/y. Rapeseed was harvested from 1.0mn ha with an average yield of 2.8 t/ha, a 18.2% growth y/y. Farmers harvested 32 mmt of wheat (27.5% higher y/y), 10.0 mmt of barley (28.6% higher y/y) and 2.7 mmt of rapeseed (7.0% higher y/y).
Grain yields are up 25% y/y for the early crops – wheat, barley and canola, reports the Agriculture Ministry. Wheat was up 21.5%, to 4.6 tons/hectare. Barley was up 26%, to 4.1 tons per hectare. Farmers have harvested 32mn tons of wheat, up 28% y/y. About 65% of the wheat harvest is to go to world markets. The corn harvest is expected to be the best since Independence. In the US and Brazil, poor weather is pushing down grain harvests. Since the start of the year, world prices of wheat and corn have risen by 11%. Concorde Capital’s Andriy Perederey writes of Ukraine’s bumper crops: “The 2021 harvest results of early crops are higher due to favorable weather conditions this season...In this way, agriculture will be among the key drivers of Ukraine’s GDP growth this year.”
Farming was the most profitable economic activity in Ukraine last year,
netting $3bn, reports the National Scientific centre Institute of Agrarian Economics. Of the nation’s farms, 83% made money, and 17% lost money. In 2019, a year of record grain harvests, profits were 13% higher -- $3.4bn. This year, with the grain harvest expected to be an all time record, farming profits are expected to also hit record levels.
Ukraine’s top 25 agribusinesses control 9% of the nation’s cultivated farm land, according to a survey by Concorde Capital. The top five are: Kernel -- 510,000 hectares; Ukrlandfarming -- 475,000 hectares; MHP -- 370,000; Agroprosperis -- 300,000 hectares; and Astarta -- 243,000 hectares. Most of this land is leased, not owned.
The USDA has cut its forecast for Russia’s wheat harvest by 15%, to 72.5mn tons. By contrast, the forecast for Ukraine’s wheat harvest has been increased by 10%, to a record 33mn tons, says the US Department of Agriculture. Similarly, the forecast for Ukraine’s wheat exports during the current marketing year has been increased by 10%, to 23.5mn tons.
With wheat threshed from three quarters of the planted area, Ukrainian wheat farmers are seeing a 14% yoy jump in yields: 4.55 tons / hectare, compared to 3.98 t / ha last year. In Khmelnytskyi and Volyn regions, yields are hitting 6.06 t / ha. Thanks to the same favorable weather, barley yields are up 10% compared to last year.
After being launched on July 1, 2020, the land market reform is showing results. As of August 25, 9,072 agreements have been concluded within its framework. Transactions for 19,356 hectares of land were registered. Most
72 UKRAINE Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com