Despite the fact that autumn is harvest time, many products in Ukraine have risen significantly. In particular, prices for cereals have been growing lately. But after all, a good harvest of grain has been harvested in Ukraine. What is the reason?

“Given the annual consumption of about 3 kg of buckwheat by a Ukrainian on average, we need about 100 thousand tons of cereals,” said Serhiy Gromovoy, executive director of the International Buckwheat Association. "In terms of grain, this will be about 150 thousand tons."

It is worth noting that it is this year that a good harvest of cereals, including buckwheat, is harvested in Ukraine. According to forecasts of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, farmers will harvest more than 110 thousand tons of buckwheat this season.

“This is the largest harvest of buckwheat in the past few years,” said Roman Leshchenko, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. – Two months ago, our forecasts were at the level of 100 thousand tons. And now the farmers have harvested 107 thousand tons. This figure is at 94% since only 15 regions completed the collection. Therefore, our updated forecasts amount to more than 110 thousand tons."

According to him, the highest yield has so far been recorded in the Vinnytsia region – 15.9 c/ha.

At the same time, Roman Leshchenko noted that the program of state support for the production of buckwheat, launched this year, is already showing effective and efficient results of import substitution. Recall that according to this program, farmers receive subsidies of up to 5 thousand hryvnias per hectare of cultivated land, where buckwheat was grown.

“In 2021, UAH 50 million was allocated to support buckwheat producers,” the minister said. – We plan to continue supporting our farmers and will continue this program next year. I urge those who speculate on food security and intimidate Ukrainians to look at specific figures: Ukrainians are fully provided with grain and buckwheat."

However, then it is not clear why, with such a good harvest, retail prices for buckwheat continue to grow?

“The annual demand for buckwheat in Ukraine is about 180 thousand tons,” said an independent expert, Candidate of Economic Sciences Alexander Khmelevsky. “Therefore, despite the record harvest of 110 thousand tons, it will not be enough to fully satisfy the country's demand for buckwheat. The deficit is traditionally covered by imports, usually from Russia. But this year, Russia added buckwheat to the list of strategic goods banned from exporting to Ukraine. Therefore, despite the good harvest, the buckwheat deficit in the Ukrainian market will remain. The situation may be aggravated by the actions of speculators who want to delay the sale of goods in order to ensure the rise in prices. Therefore, we are expecting an increase in the cost of buckwheat by 15-20%”.

AGROtrend