KIEV, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The drought that hit 25 percent of the Ukrainian territory this month will have a limited impact on the country's grain harvest, the Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday.
Due to the snowy winter and the rainy spring, the crops in Ukraine have received enough water for vegetation, the ministry said in a statement.
"We do not expect a serious decline in grain yields ... the forecast for this year's harvest remains at the past year's level of more than 60 tons," the ministry said.
On Monday, several local media, citing agricultural experts, reported that Ukraine may lose between 10 percent and 15 percent of its grain harvest due to the drought that hit grain-producing regions in the southern and the eastern part of the country.
In 2017, Ukrainian farmers harvested 61.3 million tons of crops, down 7.1 percent from a year earlier.
Ukraine is a major supplier of grain to the world market, covering an estimated 17 percent of the global barley exports, 12 percent of corn exports and 10 percent of wheat supplies.
In the 2016-2017 marketing year, the East European country sold overseas 43.8 million tons of cereals.?
