Ukraine: winter rapeseed sown on 104% of plan, winter grains on 85.4%
Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said on November 4 that almost 6 million hectares have been sown with winter crops. Winter grains cover 4,447.8 thousand hectares, or 85.4% of the forecast area, and winter rapeseed covers 1,151.6 thousand hectares, or 104.2% of plan. Farmers in 23 regions sowed more rapeseed than forecast.
Key figures
- Winter grains: 85.4%
- Winter rapeseed: 104.2%
- Wheat and triticale: 87.1%
- Barley: 70.8%
- Rye: 96.9%
- Leader: Mykolaiv region
What changed
In the three weeks since October 14, winter grains have added 1,056.7 thousand hectares: back then 3,391.1 thousand hectares had been sown, or 65.1% of the forecast. Barley is catching up with the plan fastest: its share rose from 45.9% to 70.8%, but it still trails the other crops. Rapeseed stood at 98.7% of plan on October 14 and has now passed it. The ministry gives the total area as almost 6 million hectares; the sum of its figures for grains and rapeseed is about 5.6 million hectares.
By the numbers
Winter sowing on November 4 and the increase since October 14:
- Wheat and triticale: 3,953.0 thousand ha, 87.1% of forecast (+901.5 thousand ha).
- Barley: 420.5 thousand ha, 70.8% of forecast (+147.8 thousand ha).
- Rye: 74.3 thousand ha, 96.9% of forecast (+7.4 thousand ha).
- Rapeseed: 1,151.6 thousand ha, 104.2% of plan (+61 thousand ha).
Where the most is sown
In winter grains the leaders are Mykolaiv region with 500 thousand ha, including 401 thousand ha of wheat and triticale and 97 thousand ha of barley, Dnipropetrovsk with 475.6 thousand ha and Kirovohrad with 396.7 thousand ha. Odesa (395 thousand ha), Poltava (281.2 thousand ha), Cherkasy (225.4 thousand ha) and Khmelnytskyi (223.3 thousand ha) regions are also moving quickly. The most rapeseed was sown in Odesa region at 195 thousand ha, Vinnytsia at 125 thousand ha, Mykolaiv at 98 thousand ha, Khmelnytskyi at 85.7 thousand ha and Ternopil at 79.3 thousand ha.
What it means for buyers
The rapeseed plan has been met, and about 15% of the area is left to reach the winter grain forecast, with barley furthest from it. Seeding equipment working on grains will be freed up in the coming weeks, so once the work is over it is a convenient time to assess its condition and decide what to replace by spring. Rapeseed went into winter on a larger area than planned: farms that increased its share should check in advance whether their sprayer capacity is enough and whether their header suits the spring and summer work on these fields.
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