KYIV. Oct 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The actual provision of agricultural producers with mineral fertilizers is 65%, Vitaliy Sabluk, the deputy director of the National Scientific Centre "Institute of Agrarian Economics," has said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.

According to Sabluk, in 2019 every second hectare of farmland could lack fertilizers.

"Due to changes in the structure of areas under crops, the need for fertilizers increased by 5%, to 375,000 tonnes, while the supply decreased by 6% (by 22,000 tonnes), another part of fertilizers is stored by traders as a buffer stock," he said and added that this will lead to a decrease in gross harvest.

Head of the Agrarian Union of Ukraine Hennadiy Novikov said it is impossible to compensate for under-supplied fertilizers during the autumn sowing campaign with a large amount of fertilizers in spring.

"No matter how much saltpeter to use in spring, there won't be quality wheat if there is no phosphorus and potassium. There will be definitely yield losses," Novikov said and added that it will be possible to estimate the level of yield reduction in spring.

"The situation we have now is constantly arising. As soon as prices for agricultural products go up, for example, wheat prices have increased by 20%, prices for fertilizers grow by 40%. Previously, this discrepancy was less," Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Viktor Sheremeta said.