Ukraine in 2013 could expand cornfields by 0.4 m ha if seeds were available, say experts
Kyiv, November 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Cornfields in Ukraine for the 2013 harvest could be expanded by 400,000 hectares compared to 2012, to five million hectares, if there are enough seeds on the domestic market, the president of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB), Alex Lissitsa has said.
"Ukrainian farmers are ready to sow 5 million hectares with corn next year, but it's obvious that this will depend on the availability of seeds," he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine in Kyiv on Thursday.
He said that the farmers' plans to expand fields with corn might not be realized, as the seed companies say that they have to reduce supplies of imported corn seeds by 20-30% compared to the earlier planned volumes.
Lissitsa said that the fall in imports of seeds to the country is linked to this year's droughts in some countries that produce corn for seed.
The director general of the UCAB, Volodymyr Lapa, said that the alternative in the present situation could be the use of Ukrainian-produced seeds. However, the expert said that their yield is 5-8 tonnes per hectares, while the yield of imported seeds is 11-12 tonnes per hectare.
Commenting on the structure of fields sowed for the 2013 harvest, Lapa said that it would mainly depend on the profitability of certain agricultural product. He said that sunflower, corn, soybeans, rapeseeds and wheat are the most liquid products today. This year sugar beets and buckwheat will be unprofitable, the expert said.
Lapa said that next year the area of fields sown with sugar beets and buckwheat could be reduced.
As reported, Ukraine sowed 4.6 million hectares with corn for the 2012 harvest, compared to 3.6 million hectares in 2011.