Ukraine winter wheat sowing to remain unchanged despite export crisis

Despite higher logistics costs due to the wartime export crisis, Ukrainian farmers will not reduce its sowing area of winter wheat for the 2024 harvest.

The collapse of a deal to maintain the Black Sea corridor used to safely export grain during the war with Russia sparked predictions that farmers in Ukraine, a major global wheat producer, might sow less wheat because of shrinking profit margins caused by more expensive export routes.

This week, the Ukrainian agriculture ministry highlighted data that indicated that while the area of winter planting for 2024 could rise to a record high level, farmers could cut the area of winter wheat sowing.

First Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskiy said that the possible reduction of winter wheat may total only be 0.1 percent.

For the 2023 harvest, Ukraine sowed some 4.1 million hectares of winter wheat, while the area under winter barley was some 615,000 hectares.

Winter wheat accounts for at least 95 percent of Ukraine’s overall wheat output.

Farmers have already completed the 2023 wheat harvest, which totaled 21.94 million metric tons, compared to 20.7 million tons in 2022.

While not providing a forecast for the total 2024 sowing area, the ministry said the overall winter crop sowing area could rise by 0.5 million hectares, or 8 percent, compared to the previous season.

Ukraine currently exports limited volumes through small river ports on the Danube and via its western land border with the European Union.

Tags: crisis, output, area, Ukraine, sowing area, Russia, winter barley, harvest, Black Sea corridor, export, grain, planting, winter wheat, forecast