IKAR in Mass Media

Dry weather threatens 2016 grain crops in Ukraine and Russia

25 сентября 2015 года

KIEV/MOSCOW – Dry weather is threatening the 2016 grain harvests in Ukraine and Russia, both major Black Sea wheat exporters which are currently planting winter crops, analysts and forecasters say.

Officials expect the total area for winter grains to remain flat year-on-year at 18.3 million acres in Ukraine and to rise 0.74 million acres to 42.26 million acres in Russia.

Most of the seeds in Ukraine have been planted in dry land due to widespread drought across its central, eastern and southern regions and observers fear a lack of moisture could disrupt the 2016 wheat and barley harvest.

“In southern and eastern regions where the rainless period has lasted for more than a month, critically unfavorable conditions for soil moisture replenishment were observed in fields for seeding winter crops,” said analyst UkrAgroConsult.

“Failure to comply with sufficient sowing time period increases the probability that crops will enter the winter underdeveloped and weak.”

Ukrainian farmers have sown 4.7 million acres of winter grains, or 26 percent of the intended area, according to agriculture ministry data, down from 4.94 million acres at the same date last year.

“Farmers are continuing to sow despite the fact that 70 percent of Ukrainian fields are absolutely dry. They sow ‘just in case’,” said Tetyana Adamenko at Ukraine’s state weather centre.

Ukrainian weather forecasters say this August was the driest in 54 years and expect no rain before the end of September.

Ukraine and Russia were both hit by bouts of dry weather last autumn, but a favourable spring climate during helped to improve yields.

“The situation is very sad, but we know cases when seeds sown in autumn sprouted in the spring,” Adamenko added.

So far, there has been less drama in Russia, where farmers have already sown 23.72 million acres, or 56 percent of the planned area.

The country’s southern regions have experienced dry and hot weather, especially around the cities of Rostov and Volgograd, but farmers are still able to sow grains in optimal time.

“The situation is not easy, but we still have time,” said Dmitry Rylko, the head of the IKAR agriculture consultancy.

The agricultural department at state weather forecaster Hydrometcentre said: “There is not much to worry about so far.”

The pace of the sowing in Russia has increased significantly in the last few days and is currently down 0.93 million acres year-on-year.

Source: Reuters | #grain | Comments: 0 Views: 119

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