A forecast for the production of horticultural products in Ukraine was published

In 2017, horticultural gross value production is going reach 175.6 billion hryvnias. It is 5.1% lower than last year. The volume of the production of all horticultural products will decrease, except for rye, peas, and rape.

The principle of the National Science Center “Institute for Agrarian Economics”, academician Yuriy Lupenko, told about the forecast. Scientists make three types of forecasts – optimistic, pessimistic, and average. Acording to a pessimistic forecast poor crops and bad weather conditions are possible. Corn and rice production will be good, though. As for the production of all the rest cultures, the forecast is quite pessimistic, except for soybeans, fruit, berries, and grapes.

The volume of grain and legume production in 2017 will decrease by 10.7% compared to last year and will make up 59.04 million tons. The main reason for this is that crop capacity is expected to decrease by 11.6%.

The amount of wheat harvested this year may decrease by 17.9% compared to last year. Due to the reduction of the number of barley fields its production may decrease by 23.3% compared to 2016. A 5% reduction in the crop capacity of buckwheat can lead to a 9.3% reduction in its production. The largest decline – 51% – is forecasted for millet. The reason for this is a decrease of the number of millet fields by 44.2%.

The production of oats (-23%) and sorghum (-17,6%) will also decrease. The production of corn and rice will be almost the same as in 2016. Pea production will increase by 10.3% as a result of an increase of lands where it is cultivated by 60.6%. The production of rye will increase by 7.7% compared to last year. According to the scientists at the Institute of Agrarian Economics, among oilseed crops, only the amount of rape production will increase. It is forecasted to reach a level of 183.8% to 2016 due to 94.7% increase in sown areas.

The production of sunflower seeds will decrease by 4.8% due to the reduction of sown areas by 7.4%. The production of soy will decrease by 4.5% compared to last year. The production of beets will decrease by 6%, mainly due to the decline in their crop capacity by 10.2%. The production of potatoes will decrease by 3.1%. The production of vegetables will decrease by 6.8% compared to 2016 due to a decrease in their crop capacity by 7.1%. There will be 3.7% less fruit and berries collected than last year. According to the forecast, the production of grapes is expected to stay at the level of last year.