Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy and Trade expects the country to produce 75 million tons of crops this year, the same amount as in 2019, Taras Vysotskyi, Deputy Minister of Economy wrote on Facebook on March 4.
Ukrainian farmers harvested 64.5 million tons in 2020, after a warm winter and a subsequent drought hurt crops.
This year, due to the snowy winter and wet soil, the ministry expects over 33 million tons of corn, 29.5 million tons of wheat, 13.5 million tons of sunflower seed, 9 million tons of barley, 3 million tons of soybeans and over 2 million tons of rapeseed.
Ukraine could also produce 19 million tons of oil from crops in 2021, the ministry’s data shows.
The country’s cultivated area encompasses 24 million hectares, roughly the same as last year.
Agriculture remains the most promising sector of the economy and Ukraine’s largest source of exports, generating 9% of the country’s gross domestic product in 2019, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration.
Ukraine, which accounts for roughly 16% of global grain exports, sold about 57 million tons of grain to foreign buyers in 2019. Exports declined to roughly 44.2 million tons in 2020 due to the smaller harvest at the beginning of the year.
