Ukraine's Farmers Shift to Pulses Amid Winter Crop Sowings Cut
Ukrainian farmers are reducing their winter crop sowings by around 30-40% in southern Ukraine due to blocked ports and low grain prices. Onur Vatan, Director of Agro Nomia LTD, stated this during the AgroFoodSummit in Mersin, Türkiye. Farmers will have to decide which crops to grow in spring and are expected to sow areas not occupied by winter crops with pulses, such as peas and lentils, as well as niche crops like millet and sorghum.
According to Vatan, corn is no longer grown in southern regions, and sunflowers do not produce good yields due to dry weather conditions. The focus should be on lentils, as farmers like this crop. The average lentil yield this year was 2.2 t/ha, with the price standing at UAH 19,000/t despite logistics problems.
Ukraine can grow high-quality lentils and bring them to the global market earlier than Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia. Ukrainian farmers meet the needs of importing countries, particularly Türkiye, by growing lentils at the early stages of the season.