Wheat, Barley and Rapeseed Harvests Completed in Ukraine: Approximately 25 million tonnes of wheat harvested

The wheat, barley and rapeseed harvests in Ukraine have been completed. Farmers have harvested approximately 25 million tonnes of wheat, 6 million tonnes of barley and 4 million tonnes of rapeseed. The sunflower, soya and maize harvests, however, are still ongoing. Taras Vysotskyi, Ukraine’s Minister for Agricultural Policy and Food, assessed the harvest results, sowing forecasts for the new season and state credit programmes for agricultural producers during his weekly briefing with media representatives.

Latest situation regarding late-harvest crops

According to Minister Vysotskyi, more than 80 per cent of the sunflower sowing area, more than 85 per cent of the soya bean sowing area and more than 20 per cent of the maize sowing area have been harvested.

Vysotskyi stated that they expect a yield of up to 4 million tonnes for soya and approximately 12 million tonnes for sunflowers. He added that, together with rapeseed, total oilseed production is expected to reach approximately 20 million tonnes. Stating that the baseline forecast for the maize harvest is 30 million tonnes, the Minister noted that yields in some regions have fallen short of expectations, and therefore the forecast may be revised downwards.

This year’s buckwheat harvest is expected to be approximately 83,000 tonnes. Last year, this figure stood at 71,000 tonnes. Vysotskyi stated that they estimate domestic buckwheat consumption for the 2026–2027 season to be approximately 75,000 tonnes; consequently, production is expected to remain close to consumption levels, and carry-over stocks will remain at a minimum.

The Minister emphasised that this also affects market prices. Vysotskyi explained that prices, which had previously fallen due to high supply and stock levels, are now responding to current production volumes, and revealed that the average price of buckwheat groats is approximately 92 hryvnia per kilogram (approximately 2.04 US dollars). Whilst the price rose by approximately 12 per cent last month, it has remained stable over the past week.

Oilseed acreage may increase in the new season

According to the Ministry’s preliminary forecasts, farmers may reduce their cereal sowing areas in the new season, particularly for wheat and maize. Conversely, an increase in the sowing area for oilseeds such as soya and sunflower is expected. Wheat sowing areas are forecast to decrease by 15–17 per cent, falling to approximately 4–4.2 million hectares. The area sown with winter rapeseed, however, is expected to remain at the previous year’s level, at approximately 1.3 million hectares.

It was also noted that the final crop distribution will depend on the economic situation, market conditions and the decisions of agricultural producers.

Vysotskyi emphasised that the ‘Affordable Loans 5-7-9 Per Cent’ state programme continues to be one of the key instruments for providing financial support to the agricultural sector.

Since the start of the year, agricultural producers have utilised a total of 132 billion hryvnia (approximately 2.93 billion US dollars) in loans; this figure is 34 billion hryvnia (approximately 755 million US dollars) higher than in the same period last year. Of these loans, 55 billion hryvnia (approximately 1.22 billion US dollars) were provided under the “5-7-9 Per Cent” programme, a figure exceeding last year’s total by 12 billion hryvnia (approximately 267 million US dollars). With the support of state portfolio guarantees, an additional 28 billion hryvnia (approximately 622 million US dollars) in loan funds was secured.

From August onwards, following the expansion of opportunities to use preferential loans to strengthen working capital, farmers secured an additional 37 billion hryvnia (approximately 822 million US dollars) in financing.

The government has also decided to extend the preferential loan scheme for agricultural producers until 31 August 2027. Changes to the state portfolio guarantee mechanism now allow support to be provided to borrowers who had fallen behind on repayments arising from previous loans or state guarantees but have since settled those debts.

Vysotskyi noted that the Ministry of Agricultural Policy is continuing its efforts to improve farmers’ access to credit, stating that this aims to help producers maintain their day-to-day operations, strengthen their working capital and carry out seasonal field work on time.