| Good rainfall in April and a positive start to the spring sowing campaign have prompted Ukraine’s Economy Ministry to forecast a bumper grain crop of 75 million tonnes in 2021. That figure would represent a 15 percent rise on last year’s harvest. Weather forecasters said last month around 98 percent of Ukrainian winter wheat crops and 100 percent of winter barley were in good condition. But the ministry said drought and last year’s poor harvest had hit Ukraine’s grain exports – down 35 percent year-on-year. High food prices on world markets have limited the effects of the decline. Agriculture analysts APK-Inform said exports could rebound by 19 percent in the forthcoming year and reach a total of 54 million tonnes. Agriculture is Ukraine’s largest source of exports. Taras Kachka, Ukraine’s Trade Representative said earlier this year that the country had become the world’s second-largest grain exporter, second only to the United States.
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