REUTERS
Crops sown for the 2019 harvest are in better condition compared to the previous year, the ministry said.
Winter grain crops in Ukraine as of December 17 had sprouted on 97% of 7.1 million hectares under the crops, and those on 6 million hectares (86%) are in good and satisfactory condition.
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"Examination of winter grain crops shows that seedlings sprouted on 6.9 million hectares (97%). In particular, crops on 6 million hectares are in good and satisfactory condition (86%); sprouts are weak on 0.9 million hectares (14%)," the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry's press service said in a statement on December 17.
In addition, winter rapeseed seedlings sprouted on 1 million hectares (99%) of the sown 1.03 million ha area. At the same time, rapeseed crops on 984,000 hectares (92%) are in good and satisfactory condition, while sprouts are weak on 87,000 hectares (8%).
"Crops sown for the 2019 harvest are in better condition compared to the previous year. Thus, as of December 17, 2017, the share of weak winter grain sprouts was 19% and that of winter rapeseed sprouts was 13%," the ministry said.
As of December 17, 2018, Ukrainian agrarians had sown winter crops on an area of 7.1 million hectares, or 99% of the forecast set at 7.2 million hectares.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the grain harvest in 2018 already exceeded the historical maximum seen at 66 million tonnes of grain gathered in 2016.
Grain crops were sown on 14.3 million hectares (including 7.15 million hectares under winter crops) for the harvest of 2017. Total areas under crops for the harvest of 2017 were estimated at 26.9 million hectares, which is 152,000 hectares more than in 2016.