Ukraine expects record maize harvest to reach 28m tons, rising sales to China

Ukraine’s maize harvest may hit a record 27-28 million tons this year and sales to China could rise by 10 percent due to the trade war between the US and China, the country’s acting agriculture minister said.

China has accused the US of triggering the “largest-scale trade war” with import duties, potentially giving a further boost to already booming grain and oilseed exports from the Black Sea region.

“For some positions, such as soybean, we will get an increase in exports to new markets,” Maksym Martyniuk said.

Ukraine has exported 2.6 million tons of maize to China so far in the 2017/18 September-August season, out of total sales of 16.6 million tons.

“Maize will traditionally go to China. We can increase [maize] exports to China by up to 10 percent,” Martyniuk said, adding that maize could hit a record 27-28 million tons this year, compared with 24.1 million tons in 2017.

Weather conditions have favored crops sown late in the season this year and a strong maize crop may compensate for a drop in the 2018 wheat harvest, which is likely to decrease by 12-16 percent to 2223 million tons due to poor weather.

Drought during spring and torrential rains in summer have affected Ukrainian winter crops, raising concerns on a possible decrease in the harvest and its quality.

“Due to weather conditions, we will have a minus in winter crops, from rapeseed to winter wheat,” Martyniuk said.

He said Ukraine might harvest at least 60 million tons of grain this year, versus 61.3 million tons a year earlier.