Crop area decreases by 25% due to war

Taras Vysotskyi, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, has stated that it is currently impossible to use 25% of the crop area due to hostilities or temporary occupation of territories. 

Source: Taras Vysotskyi, at a meeting of the Anti-Crisis Headquarters of the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE); Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine

In general, the expected crop area of all categories of farms in the controlled territory of Ukraine for the 2023 harvest should be 21.8 million hectares, which is 6.8 million hectares less than the figure reported in 2021 (28.6 million hectares).

Quote: "If we are talking about the sowing campaign, currently we cannot use approximately 25% of the crop areas due to hostilities or temporary occupation of the territories.

After liberation, it will take a lot of time to clear [these areas off] mines and clean the territories. What the occupier leaves behind needs at least several months, and even up to a year, to return to production," Vysotskyi said.

According to Vysotskyi, it is already possible to predict a decrease in the application of seeds and fertilisers down to 50% of the scientifically based norms due to the increase in prices. Instead, the use of cheaper technologies provokes a decrease in production.

Expensive logistics and the energy crisis remain the key problems for Ukrainian farmers in 2023.

Background:

According to preliminary estimates of the Ukrainian Agrarian Business Club, the area under grain crops in 2023 will amount to 8.7 million hectares, which is 22% less than in 2022 and 45% less than in 2021.

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