According to EastFruit experts, in the northern and central regions of Ukraine (Kiev, Zhytomyr, Chernigov, Sumy, Cherkasy and Poltava regions), which account for a significant part of the production of potatoes, beets, cabbage and carrots, there has been no rain for more than two weeks. At the same time, air temperatures beat historical records, incl. and at night, which leads to problems with plant development and stress.
According to weather forecasts, no precipitation is expected in these regions over the next week, which may aggravate the condition of plants and even lead to a partial loss of yield. Unfortunately, the bulk of potatoes, carrots, cabbage and beets in these regions are grown on a dry land, i.e. without watering. So it’s practically impossible to do in this situation. Some hope for vegetable growers and potato growers gives only the expected decrease in average daily air temperatures in a week. They hope that by this time the weather forecast will change and it will rain, because if such weather persists for more than three weeks, then crop losses are inevitable.
According to EastFruit analysts, the area under the vegetables of the so-called borsch set and potatoes in Ukraine for the 2019 harvest was very sharply expanded. If the climatic conditions are close to normal, then it will be difficult to avoid the overproduction of these crops. However, the very beginning of the season showed that the conditions are far from ideal.
Initially, vegetable growers in the northern and central regions of Ukraine were too late to plant and sow vegetables and potatoes, because excessive rainfall and cold weather in late April and early May did not allow this. Now the weather has changed, and there is no precipitation at all, and air temperatures are much higher than normal.
Recall that in the 2018/19 season, Ukraine sharply increased the import of potatoes due to a poor harvest a year earlier. Imports grew 3,5 times to 19,1 thousand tons. At the same time, the export of potatoes decreased by 13% to 3,6 thousand tons, which made Ukraine a net importer of potatoes. At the same time, farmers who were able to harvest last season earned good money for the first time in three years, because prices were high, and the demand for potatoes and vegetables from the borscht set exceeded supply.
Source: https://www.fruit-inform.com/