Ukraine expects to maintain this year’s agricultural exports at the previous $20B.

Farmers can sow and harvest at least twice as much grain this year as Ukrainians will consume. These grain volumes will maintain the agricultural sector’s export potential at the previous year’s level of $20B, according to Deputy Minister of Agricultural Policy Taras Vysotskyi. At the same time, he specified that there is a risk that about 0.5 million hectares, or 2% of the nation’s total agricultural area, may not be sown due to necessary demining of territories, which that takes time. According to the official, this year’s sowing season will be focused more on oil crops, which will lead to a decrease in the gross grain crop production in Ukraine. Due to this, the amount of grain exported will decrease and force international markets to increase grain prices, explained Vysotsky. Ukrainian farmers have sown over 16,000 hectares of grain and leguminous crops.