Losses in Ukraine's grain and oilseeds sector could exceed $3.2 billion in 2023 due to high logistics costs, spikes in fuel and fertilizer prices, and climate anomalies that threaten to reduce acreage in the coming years. said the association of farmers in the country.
Before the war, Ukraine was one of the world's leading food producers and exporters, and its agricultural sector was very profitable. This year, for the first time, Ukrainian authorities and farmers did not report financial results for 2022/2023.
In an article for Reuters, the Agrarian Council (Ukraine's largest agribusiness group) said wheat production costs in 2023 were around $146 per tonne, with an average selling price of $102 per tonne.
Farmers spend $149 to grow corn and can sell it for $94. The council said that in the new season, sunflower and canola production would be unprofitable and only soybeans could bring some profit to farmers.
Growers said heavy losses have already led to a drop in acreage for the new crop. According to Oleg Khymenko, head of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club, farmers will determine the area they can sow based primarily on their financial capacity.
Not only financial difficulties, but also bad weather conditions can significantly reduce cultivated areas this fall. Ukraine is a traditional producer of winter wheat, barley and canola, but this year the conditions are not at all favorable.
Forecasters are of the opinion that the prolonged absence of rain in most Ukrainian regions has created unfavorable conditions both for the current sowing of winter crops and for already sown plants.
According to them, the situation with soil moisture is worst in Odesa, Kherson, Nikolaev, Kirovograd, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy and Kharkiv regions, where soil moisture is practically absent.
Before the war, Ukraine was one of the world's leading food producers and exporters, and its agricultural sector was very profitable. This year, for the first time, Ukrainian authorities and farmers did not report financial results for 2022/2023.
In an article for Reuters, the Agrarian Council (Ukraine's largest agribusiness group) said wheat production costs in 2023 were around $146 per tonne, with an average selling price of $102 per tonne.
Farmers spend $149 to grow corn and can sell it for $94. The council said that in the new season, sunflower and canola production would be unprofitable and only soybeans could bring some profit to farmers.
Growers said heavy losses have already led to a drop in acreage for the new crop. According to Oleg Khymenko, head of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club, farmers will determine the area they can sow based primarily on their financial capacity.
Not only financial difficulties, but also bad weather conditions can significantly reduce cultivated areas this fall. Ukraine is a traditional producer of winter wheat, barley and canola, but this year the conditions are not at all favorable.
Forecasters are of the opinion that the prolonged absence of rain in most Ukrainian regions has created unfavorable conditions both for the current sowing of winter crops and for already sown plants.
According to them, the situation with soil moisture is worst in Odesa, Kherson, Nikolaev, Kirovograd, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy and Kharkiv regions, where soil moisture is practically absent.
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