Ukraine harvests 40.2 mln tonnes of grains, down 14.8% YoY

MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) - Ukrainian agrarians harvested 40.2 million tonnes of grains and legumes on 8.77 million hectares, which is 76% of the area sown with these crops, as of October 31, Ukrainian media said, citing the website of the Economy, Environment and Agriculture Ministry.

Some 47.2 million tonnes of grains were harvested on 11.106 million hectares on the same date last year, so the amounts are down 14.8% and 21.1%, respectively, mostly due to the late corn harvesting.

According to the ministry, 10.36 million tonnes of corn have been harvested on 1.31 million hectares, versus 18.3 million tonnes on 3.07 million hectares last year.

The wheat harvest is slightly larger than last year, 22.78 million tonnes on 5.05 million hectares versus 22.30 million tonnes on 4.9 million hectares, while the barley harvest is a bit smaller, 5,37 million tonnes on 1.35 million hectares versus 5.50 million tonnes on 1.41 million hectares.

The peas harvest is much bigger this year, 660,700 tonnes on 271,300 hectares versus 465,300 tonnes on 212,200 hectares last year, and the buckwheat and millet harvest is much smaller, 82,500 tonnes versus 126,9oo tonnes and 61,500 tonnes versus 159,500 tonnes, respectively.

The harvest of other grains and legumes reached 881,600 tonnes on 317,000 hectares as of October 24 this year.

Wheat, barley and peas harvesting is over, the ministry said.

As to oilseeds, rapeseeds have been harvested in the amount slightly smaller than last year: 3.32 million tonnes versus 3.5 million tonnes on almost equal areas of around 1.3 million tonnes.

Soybean and sunflower seed harvesting continues with a substantial lag: 3.94 million tonnes of soybeans have been harvested on 1.52 million hectares versus 5.73 million tonnes on 2.52 million hectares on the same date last year, alongside 8.37 million tonnes of sunflower seeds harvested on 4.24 million hectares versus 9.599 million tonnes on 4.67 million hectares.

Sugar beet harvesting also lags behind with 6.79 million tonnes harvested on 130,100 hectares now, compared to 9.5 million tonnes as of the same date last year.

According to the ministry, sunflower seeds have been harvested on 86% of the sown area, soybeans on 78%, and sugar beets on 66%.

The National Bank of Ukraine's inflation report of late July downgraded the grain harvest forecast for this year from 61.7 million tonnes to 57.9 million tonnes and the oilseeds harvest forecast from 22 million tonnes to 21 million tonnes.

The bank said that Ukraine's grain harvest decreased to 56.2 million tonnes in 2024 from 59.8 million tonnes in 2023, alongside the oilseeds harvest reduction from 21.7 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes.

Deputy Economy Minister Taras Vysotsky forecasted this year's grain harvest at around 56 million tonnes, same as last year.