Ukraine grain traders union raises 2022 grain, oilseeds harvest forecast

KYIV: Ukraine’s grain traders union UGA revised up on Wednesday its forecast for the country’s grain and oilseed harvest to 69.4 million tonnes from the previous 66.5 million, but still far below the 2021 level of 106 million tonnes.

The union said in a statement that Ukraine could harvest 20.8 million tonnes of wheat and 27.3 million tonnes of corn this year. Ukraine can export 10 million tonnes of wheat and 10 million tonnes of corn in the new 2022/23 season which starts in July.

UGA gave no exact figure of the 2022 grain harvest while the first deputy Ukrainian farm minister Taras Vysotskiy told national television on Wednesday that the harvest could be at least 50 million tonnes.

Ukraine harvested 86 million tonnes of grain in 2021, including 42.1 million tonnes of corn and 32.2 million tonnes of wheat. UGA also said farmers could harvest 9 million tones of sunflower seed and 1.65 million tonnes of rapeseed this year. Last year, Ukraine harvested 16.9 million tones of sunseed and 2.9 million tonnes of rapeseed, traders added.

UGA said agriculture exports would depend on the situation with its Ukrainian Black Sea ports blocked due to the Russian invasion. It said the export volume could vary between 25 and 31.5 million tonnes.