Recent frosts in the east, north, and center of Ukraine have not caused significant damage to grain and oilseed crops, according to Tetiana Adamenko, the head of the agriculture department at the state weather forecaster.
Adamenko stated that while there was some localized damage to early seedlings of corn and sunflower, there is no information that crops have died. She explained that May frosts are a common occurrence in Ukraine and that wheat and other cereals are frost-tolerant crops that should be able to withstand minor frosts.
In contrast, the situation in Russia is much worse, where frost has damaged significant crop areas. An emergency regime remains in place in a dozen Russian regions, and the Russian agriculture ministry has estimated that 900,000 hectares need to be replanted, equating to about 1% of the total area under crops.
However, the Ukrainian agriculture ministry has said that its crop forecast remains unchanged, though it could be reviewed in June. The ministry has forecast the 2024 combined oilseed and grain harvest at 74 million metric tons, down from about 82 million tons last year.
The ministry also stated that Ukrainian farmers had sown 5.1 million hectares of spring grain crops as of May 16, which, together with 6.3 million hectares of sowed oilseeds, totals more than 11 million hectares, equating to more than 90% of the planned area.