You're reading: Ukraine threshes first 35,000 tonnes of grain

Ukraine's southern regions have started a harvesting campaign and threshed first 35,000 tonnes of grain, Agrarian Policy and Food Minister of Ukraine Mykola Prysiazhniuk has said.

"Southern region have started harvesting. First 35,000 tonnes of grain have been threshed," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.

The minister noted that the recent rains improved the situation on grain fields, which caused concern due to a prolonged heat wave.

At the same time, the minister did not rule out that high temperatures in late May-early June affected the yield of barley and soybean.

The minister found it difficult to name the expected grain harvest this year.

Earlier the ministry forecast that Ukraine this year would harvest more than 45 million tonnes of grain against 39.3 million tonnes in 2010.