☰

Empresas y finanzas

Rains to help Ukraine's winter rapeseed sowing


    KIEV (Reuters) - Torrential rains across Ukraine will counteract the deep drought in the country's eastern and southern regions, creating conditions for successful sowing of winter rape and wheat, weather forecasters said on Monday.

    Drought, which hit Ukraine's leading grain producing areas in May-July, has reduced this year's average grain yield by 15 percent. The former Soviet republic harvested about 25.2 million tonnes of early grains (wheat and barley) in 2012 against 32.8 million tonnes in 2011.

    "We forecast torrential rains on August 13-15 in Kherson, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zapozishya regions and rainfall will exceed the monthly rate," Mykola Kulbida, head of the state weather forecasting centre told a news conference.

    "The optimal conditions for sowing of winter rapeseed are already there and rains will create favourable conditions for the sowing," he said.

    Ukrainian farms traditionally start rapeseed sowing in mid-August.

    Ukraine harvested 1.19 million tonnes of rapeseed in 2012 compared with 1.34 million tonnes in 2011. Ukraine exports almost all of its rapeseed harvest, mostly to western Europe.

    (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; editing by Jason Neely)