UABC: Record soybean harvest expected in Ukraine

KYIV, May 2 /UKRINFORM/. Because of significant losses of winter crops this year Ukrainian farmers have to increase the area under spring crops. Thus, it is planned to plant soybeans throughout 1.4 million hectares, which is 23% more than last year. This may allow to collect a record harvest of this crop at 2.5 million tons, Taras Hahaliuk, the director of AgriSurvey at the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UABC) said.

"Commercial production of soybean in Ukraine has a rather short history, but in recent years an increase in production has made it possible not only to provide domestic demand, but also enter the top 10 exporters of this crop," the analyst noted.

According to the expert, the attractiveness of soybeans is due to the fact that it is possible to use own seeds, the costs are not high, and thus price risks are quite low with quite a large profit. In addition, soybean has perhaps the largest export potential among the oilseeds, given the situation on the world market and annually increasing demand.

"With the current high price of soy taken into account, which is formed amid a decline in harvest by 10-15% in South America, this year's soybean could be perhaps the most profitable crop," Hahalyuk concluded.