According to preliminary estimates, in 2023 the sown area under grain crops in Ukraine will be reduced by 45% compared to last year’s level. The harvest will be 50-60% lower than pre-war figures. This forecast was given by specialists of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine.
The reasons for this reduction are: a decrease in all sown areas, a change in the structure of crops and a decrease in the yield of grain crops. In addition, the lack of funding and the need for significant savings led to a decrease in the amount of fertilizes applied by 50-60%. Significant areas of corn crops remained in the fields not harvested. As a result, the expected level of yield may decrease (depending on the region and crop) by 15-30% compared to the average yield of previous years.
As a result, according to experts’ expectations, the projected gross grain harvest in Ukraine this year may amount to 34 million tons. This is 37% less than the result of 2022 and 60% less than the figure for 2021.
Regarding oilseeds, their gross harvest is expected to be 19.3 million, which is 13% more than in 2022, but 15% less than the level of 2021.