12/04/2022 02:47 am (act. 12/04/2022 02:47 am)
NASA: Russia Harvested Billions in Ukrainian Wheat ©APA/THEMENBILD (archive)
According to the US space agency NASA, Russia this year harvested 5.8 million tons of wheat worth about $1 billion (about 950 million euros) from Ukrainian fields that are not under the control of the country. . This was announced by NASA Harvest, the US space agency’s food and agriculture security program. For the survey, NASA Harvest uses satellite data and modeling in conjunction with several partner institutions.
Scientists involved in the research project estimate that a total of around 26.6 million tons were harvested in Ukraine this year, which is significantly more than previously predicted. Although it is lower than the previous year’s record harvest of 33 million tons, it is close to the average. However, because of the war, Ukraine did not have access to 22% of the wheat in the eastern part of the country. A total of about 88 percent of the seed was harvested, which apparently was not the case in many frontline fields.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ukraine exported 29.6% less grain in the 22/23 season than in the previous season. In total, Ukraine exported 18.1 million tons of wheat, corn and barley. In the previous harvest there were 25.8 million tons. Because of the Russian invasion, three Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea were blocked for almost six months.
According to the government, Ukraine could harvest about 51 million tons of grain this year. In 2021, the crop had reached a record 86 million tons. Since then, however, Ukraine has lost farmland and had lower yields because of the war.