Agricultural production in Ukraine has declined significantly

Summary:

According to information from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, in 2022 the harvest of the main types of cereals (corn, wheat and barley) and oil crops (sunflower, soybean and rapeseed) amounted to nearly 65 million tonnes, which is almost 40% less than in the previous year (see Chart 1). However, this significant decrease in production had only a limited impact on exports of these product categories, which last year amounted to nearly 60 million tonnes (-13% y/y, see Chart 2), partly due to the sale of stocks from 2021.

According to the Ministry’s estimates, the area under cultivation in 2023 will shrink by around 7 million hectares (24%) compared to 2021, from 29 million to 22 million hectares. Forecasts regarding the harvest of cereals this year predict a drop of around 15%, to 46 million tonnes.