May 2, 2022

Ukraine says Russian forces stole "several hundred thousand tonnes" of grain

Taras Vysotskiy, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, said Russian forces stole "several hundred thousand tonnes" of grain in areas of Ukraine that the Russian army has occupied, Reuters reported.

He said about 1.5 million tonnes of grain could have been stolen by Russian forces.

Mykola Solskyi, Ukraine's Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, said Russia has increased grain theft in the past two weeks.

Solskyi said he has heard this news from silo owners in occupied territory, adding that the situation could result in food issues at areas not controlled.

Russia has denied Ukraine's allegations.

Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said six regions in the country completed their early spring grain sowing.

The ministry did not provide a grain harvest forecast for this year, though analysts project output at 41.4 million tonnes in 2022 compared to last year's 86 million tonnes.

Consultancy APK-Inform expects Ukraine's 2022/23 grain exports could reach 33.2 million tonnes compared to 45.5 million expected for the 2021/22 season that ends in June.

-      Reuters