Rates of sowing winter grain for 2026 harvest lag behind last year's by 15.2 times

As of September 9, farmers in nine regions of Ukraine had sown 42,200 hectares of winter grain crops and 685,300 hectares of winter rapeseed, the press service of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture reported.

As of September 10, a year earlier, 639,900 hectares of winter grain crops and 905,000 hectares of winter rapeseed were sown in Ukraine, which is 15.2 times and 1.3 times more, respectively, than in the current year.

According to the report, winter wheat was sown on 39,900 hectares (versus 101,100 hectares a year earlier), barley - on 1,100 hectares (3,700 hectares), rye - on 1,020 hectares (400 hectares).

According to the ministry, winter grain crops are being sown by farmers in Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Ternopil, Kherson, Chernivtsi and Chernihiv regions. Farmers in Vinnytsia, Volyn, Poltava and Ternopil regions have completed the sowing of winter rapeseed.

As reported, on September 3, 2025, the Ministry of Economy published forecast indicators for the area sown with winter grain crops for the 2026 harvest. The agency expects Ukrainian farmers to reduce the area sown with winter crops by 5.1% - to 5.368 million hectares. In particular, the area under winter wheat will decrease by 4.4% - to 4.778 million hectares, winter barley - by 2.7%, to 576,100 hectares, winter rapeseed - by 5.5%, to 1.114 million hectares, while winter rye crops will increase by 7.6% - to 69,300 hectares.