Losses of late crops due to drought may amount to 10-15%, acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky said on the air of the single national telethon.

"There are two main types of crops - early and late. If we are talking about harvesting wheat, barley, peas, rapeseed, rye, oats, and millet - this is the early group. The abnormal heat had an impact on it, but not critically. The worst impact was recorded in the southeastern regions, but overall we actually reached the preliminary forecast indicator [gross harvest] for these crops - 2-3% lower," he said.

The acting minister recalled that the group of agricultural crops with late ripening periods includes sunflower, corn and sugar beet. They are harvested mainly in the fall.

"Here, most likely, there will be a more negative impact of abnormal temperatures. It will be possible to accurately record this after the harvest, but today it looks like the harvest of these crops may be reduced by 10-15%. There are regions where there will be no reduction, where there was sufficient precipitation, which made it easier to get through this abnormal heat. But there are regions where the impact is critical," Vysotsky explained.

The acting minister added that the exact figures for the loss of agricultural crops due to abnormal heat in 2024 will be known in September-October, when the bulk of the harvest is collected.