News
10.09.2009
Ukraine raises grain crop forecast to 45 million tonnes
Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry has raised its 2009 grain crop forecast to 45 million tonnes from the previous outlook of 42-43 million tonnes, Farm Minister Yuri Melnyk told reporters on Wednesday. The 2008 grain harvest reached a record 53.3 million tonnes.
Melnyk said farms had completed early grain harvesting with the crop at 37.4 million tonnes by bunker weight. The ministry expected to receive an additional 10 million tonnes of maize by clean weight in 2009, he said. In 2008, farms harvested 25.9 million tonnes of wheat, 12.6 million tonnes of barley and 11.4 million tonnes of maize.
Analysts and traders, however, expect the 2009 grain crop to be lower than the official forecast. Alina Fedyai, analyst with agricultural company Bunge Ltd, told an international grain conference in Moscow on Tuesday the 2009 Ukrainian crop was likely to total 42.3 million tonnes.
This would include 20.05 million tonnes of wheat, 11.6 million tonnes of barley and 7.8 million tonnes of maize, Fedyai said. Kiev-based consultancy UkrAgroConsult forecast the harvest at 40.7 million tonnes, including 19.4 million tonnes of wheat, 11 million tonnes of barley and 7.6 million tonnes of maize.
Melnyk, the farm minister, said 2009/10 grain exports from Ukraine could fall to about 18 million tonnes from about 25 million in 2008/09. "Exports totalled 4.8 million tonnes as of September 8, including 600,000 tonnes so far this month," he said.
Reuters
