Ukraine's wheat harvest to drop to 5-year low in 2025 - FAO

MOSCOW. April 7 (Interfax) - The output of wheat in Ukraine is expected to drop below the five-year average in 2025, chiefly owing to the effects of the ongoing crisis, Ukrainian media reported citing the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report.

"Dry weather conditions are driving expectations of a likely modest year-on-year decline," the FAO said.

Global wheat production in 2025 should amount to 795 million tonnes, which is roughly on par with the 2024 level, it said.

Winter wheat crop conditions in the key producing countries of the Northern Hemisphere have remained broadly unchanged in the last month, it said.

The FAO also revised upward its estimate for 2024 global cereal output by 7.1 million tonnes compared to March.

"Standing at 2,849 million tonnes, the world cereal outturn, however, remains 0.3% lower year on year," it said.

The FAO currently anticipates global cereal utilization in 2024/25 to amount to 2,868 million tonnes, or 0.9% above the 2023/24 level, raising its last month's forecast by 1.3 million tonnes. This month's revision is due to an upward revision of 2.7 million tonnes in the global coarse grains' utilization forecast with higher anticipated usage of all major coarse grains (corn, barley and sorghum) than previously anticipated, it said.

"This adjustment raises the coarse grains utilization forecast to 1,534 million tonnes, indicating a 1.1% growth from last season. Conversely, the global wheat utilization forecast, now pegged at 795.4 million tonnes, is expected to decline fractionally below previous season's level following a downward revision of 1.4 million tonnes," it said.