"Minus 10% of the harvest". The head of the agricultural association spoke about the consequences of the anomalously cold spring.

Ukrainian farmers may lose 10% of the harvest of grain and oilseed crops

According to forecasts, Ukrainian farmers may lose 10% of the potential harvest and reach last year's figures - 73-74 million tons of grain and oilseed crops. This was stated by the CEO of the 'Ukrainian Agricultural Confederation' Pavlo Koval.

According to the expert, the weather situation in the fall during the sowing of winter crops was complicated, which affected the structure of the crops: less winter barley and wheat were sown. Koval says that farmers are used to early frosts harming early fruits, but no one expected such late frosts.

There were late frosts that damaged soybeans, winter barley, and other crops. There are problems with fruit trees, as well as the nut harvest across Ukraine. Nevertheless, experts predict that this year's harvest may reach last year's level.

Adaptation of agricultural enterprises to weather changes

Koval mentioned that agricultural enterprises are adapting to weather conditions. For example, some fields with frozen crops may be replanted with others. Due to the frosts, the total area of agricultural crop sowing will be smaller, especially for sugar beets.

Koval notes that many experts expect a good harvest of basic crops. A significant portion of the sunflower area has already been sown as planned, although some crops may be changed due to weather conditions.

According to him, farmers are doing everything possible to reduce harvest losses and adapt to changing conditions. The situation with the harvest is also complicated by the reduction in the number of some fruit varieties, which may lead to an increase in their prices.