Ukraine's combined grain, oilseeds harvest to fall 7 pct this year: official

KIEV, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's combined harvest of grain and oilseeds will fall about 7 percent in 2023 to 65 million tons, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Thursday, citing a senior official.

"We plan to harvest 65 million tons of crops this year," said Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

The contamination of more than 2.6 million hectares of Ukraine's agricultural lands with landmines is one of the main causes for the projected harvest decline, she said.

Last week, Ukraine's Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry forecast that Ukraine would yield 45 million tons of grain and legumes this year.

In 2022, Ukrainian farmers harvested 70 million tons of grain and oilseeds.