FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 02/01 - UKRAINE (13 February)
The early outlook for the 2001 winter cereals is good. The area sown increased by an estimated 0.8 million hectares to 8.4 million hectares. Growing conditions have been good in the 2000/01 season to date and some 88 percent of the crop are in good/satisfactory condition. Satellite imagery shows markedly better conditions than at the corresponding time last year, although crops in the south-east need rain.
The 2000 grain harvest was affected by drought. FAO now estimates the 2000 cereal harvest at only 22.9 million tonnes, less than the poor output of 1999 (26.4 million tonnes) and less than the official forecast of 24.4 million tonnes in view of traders and expert reports of overestimation, notably of the spring coarse grain crop (maize).
Despite another poor harvest, the country could remain a net exporter of cereals. In the first six months of the current marketing year, the country has exported in excess of 0.8 million tonnes (mainly barley) and imported roughly 0.4 million tonnes, (mainly wheat). In the 2000/01 marketing year, aggregate cereal exports are anticipated to halve to 1.4 million tonnes while imports increase to about 900 000 tonnes, from just over 600 000 tonnes in 1999/2000.
Back
to menu