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Sowing in the Zaporizhia region of Ukraine (in April): 20 percent lower harvest expected
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- / dpa
After the spring sowing in the Ukraine was largely completed, the authorities took a first official stock.
The area under cultivation is therefore 22 percent below the level of 2021. This was announced by the Ministry of Agriculture in Kyiv.
Ukraine expects to sow 14.2 million hectares of spring crops this year, up from 16.9 million hectares the year before the Russian invasion.
The data shows that the farmers planted 4.4 million hectares of corn, 189,300 hectares of spring wheat and 928,400 hectares of spring barley, among other things.
The ministry did not issue a harvest forecast.
Blocked Ports
Ukraine plays a central role in the global food supply.
This also applies to food that has already been harvested: because Russia is blocking the Ukrainian Black Sea ports, more than 20 million tons of grain are currently unable to leave the country.
A food catastrophe is imminent, especially in poorer countries in Africa and Asia.
Almost a third of global wheat supplies come from Russia and Ukraine.
In view of the tense grain markets due to the Ukraine war, options for increasing wheat production are being discussed at EU level.
Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) is working in Brussels to postpone new regulations for changing arable plants.
Sol/Reuters