According to estimates, the grain harvest in Ukraine has fallen by about 40 percent this year due to the Russian offensive war. A crop yield of “65 to 66 million tons” is expected by the end of the year, the head of the Ukrainian grain association, Sergiy Ivashchenko, told AFP news agency. Last year, the yield reached a record 106 million tons.
The main reason for the decline is the war, explains Ivashchenko. As a result of the Russian invasion of the country, the available acreage has shrunk and the yield of the seeds has fallen.
Many farmers had no money for fertilizer
Ukraine’s months-long export blockade on grain has “broken a cycle,” said Grain Union chief Ivashchenko. Farmers had no income for a long time – which in turn meant they didn’t have enough money to buy fertilizer. As a result, yields fell even on the areas that could be cultivated despite the war.
Ukraine is one of the largest grain exporters in the world. However, after the outbreak of war, the export of 20 million tons of grain from the country was blocked for months.
An agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine in July and extended for about four months in November allowed exports to resume. According to the responsible authorities, 580 ships carrying a total of about 15 million tons of Ukrainian grain left the country’s ports as a result of the agreement.
Less arable land due to occupations and fighting
Ivashchenko further stated that in addition to the effects of the port blockade, the occupation of several regions, fighting on arable land, lack of fuel and the “destruction of infrastructure” in Ukraine have hurt yields this year. Instead of the usual 25 million hectares of arable land, only 18 to 19 million were harvested this year.
Source: Krone
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