2018 harvest: 24 million tonnes of wheat expected in Ukraine

About 24 million tonnes of wheat are expected from Ukraine’s harvest this year, according to a review of forecast by the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine.

“Having received the latest updates from the regions, we improve our current forecast for wheat crop. Thus, we expect to have the wheat harvest of 24 million tonnes.”

This harvest includes 13 million tonnes of food grade wheat upon thrashing over 75 percent of sown area.

According to estimates, the ratio of food grade to fodder in the wheat crop in 2018 will be 55/45.

As posted on the website of the Ministry, the early grains and leguminous crops were harvested on 8.0 million hectares, 81 percent of the forecast, with a yield of 33.2 centners per hectare, and 26.5 million tonnes of new grain crops were thrashed as of August 3.

However, weather hindered the completion of early grains harvest as the agro-meteorological conditions this past week were unfavourable for further growth of late crops.

In areas where heavy downpours occurred, sometimes with hail and squalls, relative air humidity as well as air temperatures remained above normal in July, monitored reports said.

Late July and early August featured variable weather because of an active cyclone and an atmospheric frontal zone. As a result, thundershowers of various intensity fell all over the
country. In addition, heavy downpours, squalls and even hail locally occurred.

The conditions were unfavourable for farmers to complete harvesting; sometimes impossible at all. The most unfavourable conditions were seen in the western and northern regions, where significant acreage of grains had not been harvested by the arrival of rains.

In late July, excessive topsoil moisture persisted and aggravated. As a result, germination of grains in the ear began in early cereal crops lodged for long time due to previous showers. This downgraded the grain and deteriorated its quality.