The cost of the spring sowing campaign launched in Ukraine will amount to early UAH 103 billion, or US$3.892 million, which is 14% more than last year, according to the Ukrainian AgriBusiness Club Association (UCAB) press service.
This year`s campaign cost will increase due to a 26% rise in the cost of fuel compared with the last year, as well as a 9% hike in prices of fertilizers, the UCAB estimates say.
As reported, four types of crops make up the core of the spring sowing campaign, accounting for over 93% of all expenditures, or UAH 96 billion ($3.457 million): sunflower with UAH 38 billion ($1.413 million), maize with UAH 32 billion ($1.19 million), soybean with UAH 16 billion ($595 million), and spring barley with UAH 10 billion ($372 million).
”The sowing campaign cost increase is non-critical for agrarian enterprises since their final output is pegged to foreign currency as their production is mainly export-oriented. Positive is the fact that the cost of financial resources has constantly been declining for the last three years, becoming more accessible,” the press service quoted UCAB CEO Taras Vysotsky as saying.
Earlier, the spring sowing campaign in Ukraine has already been launched in 15 regions, due to favorable weather conditions. As of March 15, the area sown with cereals and leguminous crops reached 138,000 hectares, or 6% of the projected area (2.4 million hectares), according to the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry.
However, according to the UCAB experts, Ukraine`s spring sowing campaign is in jeopardy due to the shortage of mineral fertilizers caused by the suspension of operation of Rivneazot and Azot chemical plants owned by an oligarch Dmytro Firtash. The enterprises are parts of Ostchem Holding, producing 80% of Ukraine`s nitrogen fertilizers.
In this regard, the UCAB, Ukrainian MPs, and members of the Committee on Agrarian Policy and Land Relations requested that Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman help them resolve the issue of resuming operations of chemical enterprises mentioned.
