FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 06/01 - THE UKRAINE (31 May)
Spring crop planting has been completed well ahead of last year’s schedule. Favourable weather conditions as well as improved access to farm inputs have enabled farmers to sow 16 million hectares of land to spring crops, by 18 May. This compares with only 12.6 million hectares at the corresponding time last year. The winter grain area also increased by 0.6 million hectares. If targets are achieved, which is likely given current good conditions, the aggregate area sown to grains for harvest in 2001 could reach 14.6 million hectares, nearly 700 000 hectares less than last year. At this stage, yield expectations on average are higher than last year and total cereal output in 2001 could reach 31 million tonnes, nearly 8 million tonnes more than FAO’s estimate for last year. Provided favourable weather persists until the completion of the harvests, output is forecast to include 18 million tonnes of wheat (2000: 11 million tonnes) and 13 million tonnes of coarse grains (2000: 12 million tonnes).
Provided production forecasts materialise, cereal imports in 2001/02 are expected to decline to less than 200 000 tonnes from nearly 900 000 tonnes in the current marketing year. By contrast, exports in 2001/02 could reach nearly 5 million tonnes, about 3.5 million tonnes more than in 2000/01, including 3 million tonnes of wheat and nearly 2 million tonnes of coarse grains.