You're reading: Total grain supply in 2012/2013 marketing year estimated at 57.5 million tonnes

The supply of grain in the current marketing year (July 2012 through June 2013) in Ukraine will be 57.5 million against 63.2 million tonnes in the previous MY, reads a posting on the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) Web site with reference to the balance of the interdepartmental ad hoc group of the Economic and Agriculture Ministries, UGA, and the State Statistics Service.

The ad hoc group reports that the supply will include 45.3 million tonnes of newly harvested grain in 2012, 11.99 million tonnes of ending stocks and 220,000 tonnes of imported grain. Experts forecast that Ukraine is expected to have 6.6 million tonnes of grain in stock as of July 1, 2013.

The export of grain from Ukraine in the current MY is projected by the group at 22.2 million tonnes against 21.95 million in the 2011/2012 MY. The group estimates domestic consumption at 28.68 million tonnes, whereas it was 29.25 million tonnes in the previous marketing season.

As was reported, Ukraine as of July 18, 2012, threshed 14.5 million tonnes of grain, which was 7% down on the same period of 2011. Ukraine started the grain harvesting campaign in 2012 earlier due to weather conditions. Autumn droughts, strong winter frosts and the extremely hot spring worsened the yield of grain crops. Extremely high temperatures and the lack of efficient precipitation in the first summer months aggravated the situation in the field. Now temperatures have lowered and it rains from region to region.

The Agriculture Ministry forecasts that Ukraine will harvest 45.3 million tonnes of grain against 56.7 million tonnes of a bumper crop in 2011.