Ukraine's sunflower seed crop might total between 3.45 million and 3.8 million tonnes in 2004 compared with 4.2 million in 2003, analysts said on Friday.
ProAgro agriculture consultancy said the sunflower yield was likely to reach between 1.05 and 1.15 tonnes per hectare compared with 1.12 tonnes in 2003.
Analysts and the State Statistics Committee said Ukrainian farms had cut the area sown to sunseed this year to 3.3 million hectares from 3.8 million in 2003. The Agriculture Ministry has said the area totalled 2.7 million hectares.
Ukraine is among the world's leading sunseed producers, with its output accounting for around 10 percent of world production.
Analysts have said Ukraine is likely to export about 900,000 tonnes of sunseed in 2003/04 season compared with 338,000 a season earlier. They said exports might total 500,000 tonnes in 2004/05.

Copyright Reuters, 2004

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