KYIV, Ukraine (Reuters) — Ukrainian farmers may face a shortage of fertilizers for 2023 spring sowing and a lack of them could slash the harvest, a top agriculture official said Feb. 14.
Ukraine is a major grain grower and exporter, but its harvest could fall this year following the Russian invasion and occupation of a significant part of Ukrainian territory.
Most Ukrainian fertilizer plants were stopped because of the conflict and first deputy farm minister Taras Vysotskiy said in a statement that production at two remaining plants had fallen to 1.1 million tonnes in 2022 from 5.2 million tonnes in 2021.
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Part of the needs were covered by imports, which rose to 4.3 million tonnes last year from 1.4 million tonnes a year before, Vysotskiy added. The decrease in fertilizer purchases total around 1.2 million tonnes.
“If a farmer applies less fertilizer by 30 percent or more, then the yield drop can be twofold,” Vysotskiy said.
The agriculture ministry has not issued the 2023 grain harvest outlook, while the economy ministry estimated the harvest at 49.5 million tonnes, compared with around 51 million tonnes in 2022.
Producers, however, see the output even smaller at 35 to 40 million tonnes in 2023, including 12 to15 million tonnes of wheat and 15 to 17 million tonnes of corn.
