February 17, 2009
Ukraine 2009 grain harvest seen 45 million tonnes
Ukraine is likely to harvest 45 million tonnes of grain this year, less than the 53.3 million tonnes harvested in 2008 but higher than the average annual harvest in the last few years, the Agriculture Ministry's press service quoted Agriculture Minister Yury Melnik as saying Monday (February 16).
Melnik said all the winter grains planted for the 2009 harvest were in good condition, and even if farmers didn't have a sufficient amount of fertilizer, yields would still be good because of the natural fertility of the soil.
Ukraine planted winter grains for the 2009 harvest on 8.254 million hectares, which is 3.5 percent larger than the planted area a year ago.
