Ukraine 2022 winter wheat sowing 75 percent complete – ministry

KYIV, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Ukrainian farms had sown 5 million hectares of winter wheat for the 2022 harvest as of Oct 18, equating to 75 percent of the expected area of 6.68 million hectares, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday.

Winter wheat accounts for 95 percent of Ukraine’s total wheat sowing area.

The winter grain sowing area will also include 1.02 million hectares of winter barley and the sowing is 50 percent complete, the ministry said.

Last year the autumn drought reduced the area planted with winter grains, with farmers sowing 6.1 million hectares of winter wheat, 954,700 hectares of winter barley and 125,200 hectares of rye for the 2021 harvest.

A major grain grower and exporter globally, Ukraine plans to harvest a record 80.3 million tonnes of grain in 2021.

The ministry on Tuesday said that farms had harvested 52 million tonnes of grain from almost 73 percent of its sowing area as of Oct. 18, with the yield averaging 4.48 tonnes per hectare.