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Ukraine corn area to lose to soy, however cash scarcity limitations change

Ukrainian farmers are reviewing their planting prepare for 2024 after low corn prices resulted in high losses in 2015 but their ability to switch to more lucrative soybeans is restricted by scarce financing, manufacturers said.

Farmers in the southern areas in the war-stricken country have started spring sowing with barley however still have time to choose whether to plant corn, which have actually been creating losses of more than $50 per load for manufacturers.

Analysts and officials state farmers are typically not able to suddenly desert corn due to an absence of cash to buy excellent seed of other crops and the required innovation.

If there will be a decrease in corn, it will be about 2-3%,. hardly more. There will certainly be more soybeans, since soy. is the only crop that paid in 2015, Oleh Khomenko,. director with farming service association UCAB said.

The Agrarian Council, Ukraine's largest agribusiness group,. stated late in 2015 that farmers invest $149 to grow one metric. ton of corn, which they can sell for $94.

Farmers planted about 4 million hectares of corn for the 2023. harvest but practically 320,000 hectares of them stayed unharvested. since Feb. 8.

Alex Lissitsa, CEO of IMK farm holding, said the company. would stay in corn.

We'll plant the exact same quantity as in 2015, no change, he. stated.

Everybody is reducing (the area under) maize (corn), but we. understand how to grow it, so we chose that we will follow the same. trajectory as we did before the war.

Ukraine's farm ministry stated this month the location sown for. corn could reduce 9% this year but others expected a much. smaller sized decrease.

The International Grains Council recently projection there. would be a year-on-year decrease of just 1.4%.

SOYBEAN SHIFT

The shift away from corn to soybeans mirrors a comparable trend. in the U.S.

. The U.S. Department of Farming anticipated corn seedings of. 91.0 million acres, down from 94.6 million in 2023 and soybean. seedings of 87.5 million acres, up from 83.6 million in 2015.

International corn rates have fallen to the most affordable level in. more than 3 years this month with the market well supplied. after a record U.S. crop in 2023.

Ukrainian corn production has increased dramatically this century. from just 3.8 million lots in 2000 to a peak of about 42 million. in 2021.

Russia's intrusion has curbed production although it remains. Ukraine's biggest grain crop at 30 million heaps in 2023 followed. by wheat at 22 million lots.

The federal government and experts state the exportable surplus could. total 22 million loads in 2023/24, nevertheless, export difficulties. caused by the blockade of seaports and the western land border. caused a sharp fall in domestic rates, which have frequently stopped working. to cover farmers' costs.

The Agrarian Council said Ukraine still had about 17 million. lots of corn available for exports however extremely low rates required. farmers to postpone the sale.

Because costs on CPT (Carriage Paid To) are so low that they. make corn trading unprofitable for a typical farmer, numerous. farmers are all set to postpone corn sales till summer season or perhaps. delay them to the next season, the council stated in a report.

We are evaluating the structure (of crops). Corn is deeply. unprofitable and we are going into 2024 without corn, said. Svitlana Nikitiuk, the head of agricultural division of. Epicentr-Agro farm holding.

The holding sowed 20,000 hectares for corn in 2023.

She stated the company instead would begin soybean planting. with large area of 40,000 hectares and increase the acreage sown. to rapeseed and sunflower.

Absolutely all of our oilseed group we will process - this. is the most rewarding today. Our primary vector for 2024 is to. increase the processing of what we grow, Nikitiuk said.

(source: Reuters)