Ukrainian farmers plan to harvest 6,000 tons of crops in war-affected Kherson region

Before the full-scale war, 35-40% of Ukraine's melons and watermelons were grown in the Kherson region, local authorities report.

Ukrainian farmers have already sown an area of 22.5 thousand hectares in this region, yielding more than 160 thousand tons of crops. Nevertheless, they plan to gather 6,000 tons of fruits in 2023.

This year, given that most of the region is mined and some farmers are defending the country from Russian advances, it is not easy to restore the agricultural capacity of the Kherson region. The constant shelling by the occupiers further complicates the situation.

Over the two decades leading up to the war, Ukraine emerged as an important global supplier of grains and vegetable oil. Grain exports more than quintupled, and the country's share of globally traded grain rose from about 5% to 12%-14%.

During the summer of 2022, Ukraine was able to increase its agricultural export shipments by rail only modestly, to about 1 million metric tons per month.

Exports by truck have also been limited to about 600,000 tons per month. The total shipment capacity of these alternative routes fell substantially short of demand and could not bring exports even close to the level of pre-war monthly shipments.

This, in turn, led to oversupplies exhausting existing domestic storage capacities as the 2022 harvest approached.