Ukraine: Harvest Ending, Planting Starting
Ukraine farmers are wrapping up this season by getting stuck into late crops like the sunflower harvest. Early yields are proving disappointing at around 30% lower than in 2008, according to the APK-Inform Agency.
Drought in the last three months, plus reduced fertiliser and pesticide applications are to blame, they say.
The corn crop is still to be harvested, I wonder if it will suffer a similar fate? It has been fairly widely touted that it too has suffered badly from drought the last few months.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture Ministry say that winter plantings will cover 9.1 million hectares this year, 7% lower than the 9.78 million hectares sown for the 2009 harvest.
Despite a lower acreage, rapeseed plantings will increase by around 10% according to the head of the "Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business" as it looks more commercially attractive than other crops.
Drought in the last three months, plus reduced fertiliser and pesticide applications are to blame, they say.
The corn crop is still to be harvested, I wonder if it will suffer a similar fate? It has been fairly widely touted that it too has suffered badly from drought the last few months.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture Ministry say that winter plantings will cover 9.1 million hectares this year, 7% lower than the 9.78 million hectares sown for the 2009 harvest.
Despite a lower acreage, rapeseed plantings will increase by around 10% according to the head of the "Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business" as it looks more commercially attractive than other crops.