Ukrainian farmers reduce crops due to the termination of the grain deal – Kommersant

Large Ukrainian agricultural companies are reducing winter crops after Russia withdrew from a grain deal and blocked the main export route through the Black Sea. This was reported Bloomberg with reference to Ukrainian farmers.

According to Bloomberg, Ukrainian agricultural companies have limited grain storage capacity as this year’s harvest continues to pile up, and the alternative shipping corridor on the Danube lacks capacity. In addition, Russian drones attack river ports where grain can be stored.

Ukrainian HarvEast reported that it is withdrawing from cultivation from 10% to 15% of the least productive areas. “At the current prices for agricultural products, given the problems with the logistics of Ukrainian farmers and given the amount of crop we get from unproductive lands, it will be impossible to make money on it,” Bloomberg quotes Dmitry Skornyakov, CEO of the company.

Decisions regarding the cultivation of wheat, barley and rapeseed, which will be made in the next few weeks, will affect the 2024 harvest, Bloomberg notes. This will negatively affect Ukraine’s income and global food supplies. According to Ukrainian farmers, now grain prices are below cost, which makes it impossible to sell. The harvest is stored in the fields, as there is no place to store it.

On July 17, the Russian side did not extend the deal on the safe export of Ukrainian grain through humanitarian corridors in the Black Sea, explaining this by the failure to fulfill part of the agreements. In particular, Russia claims that restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products were not lifted despite the terms of the deal. The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that it is ready to immediately return to the implementation of the grain deal, but only on the condition that the Russian part of the agreement is fulfilled.

On the development of the situation – in the publication “Kommersant” “The Alliance plunged into the grain”.

Olesya Pavlenko