As worries about last spring’s drought fade, the Agriculture Ministry is raising its grain harvest forecast this year by 5% to 63.1 million tons.

As worries about last spring’s drought fade, the Agriculture Ministry is raising its grain harvest forecast this year by 5% to 63.1 million tons. This would mean a grain harvest 2% larger than last year’s. The ministry also predicts that Ukraine’s grain exports during the 2017/18 marketing year will hit 42 million tons, up 5% over last year. Dragon Capital writes that “a stronger corn yield +10-12% from last year’s” level is compensating for a weak wheat harvest. Minister Maksym Martyniuk writes on Facebook that poor harvests in competitor countries means that Ukraine’s ‘good’ harvest will be ‘magnificent.’