News From Agro-Industrial Complex

In 2009, Ukraine harvested over 48.5 mln tonnes of grains as opposed to the previous year volumes of 53.3 mln tonnes, declared Julia Timoshenko, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, on December 29. According to her, Ukraine also founded the state food reserve of grains at the volume of nearly 1.41 mln tonnes.

Ukraine is likely to export in December no more than 1.5 million metric tons of grain, down from the average 2 million tons a month this marketing year, the Ukrainian Grain Association announced Monday.

Ukraine is to attempt to reverse a long-running fall in sugar beet production which has turned the country into a sugar importer at a time of soaring prices. Kiev is to encourage farmers to raise beet plantings by 37% in 2010, to help boost domestic sugar output by some 80% to 2.5m tonnes, deputy farm minister Ivan Demchak said, according to the Kommersant newspaper.

As of November 25, the Crimea sowed winter crops throughout the area of 610 thsd ha, or 92% from the planned areas.