Ukraine. Legume harvest: updated numbers of 2022 and prospects for 2023

 On June 16, the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine published the 2022 legume harvest results:

• Total harvest – 334.17 K mt (2 times less than in 2021),
• Area harvested 180.3 K ha,
• Average yield of 1.91 t/ha.

 The 2022 harvested area by major crop, y/y:

– Beans: 37.0 K ha (-24% of 2021),

– Chickpeas: 3.1 K ha (-64%),

– Peas: 125.7 K ha (-48%),

– Lentils: 2.8 K ha (-48%).

The military actions did not impact directly on bean production, only indirectly as the economy performance deteriorated totally in 2022/23. Cultivated areas in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts decreased almost to zero, but not many beans were grown there before the war, as the climate of north-western Ukraine is more suitable for lentils vegetation. Unexpectedly, Khmelnytskyi oblast lost the lead (the area decreased from 12 K ha in 2021 to 5 K ha in 2022), but other oblasts retained the 2022 area approximately at the same level.

Chickpeas suffered most of all, chickpeas area decreased particularly in Odessa region – by 4 times y/y. In 2022 the leader in chickpea production was Poltava region (0.7 K ha).

Lentil acreage was reallocated to Odessa region in 2022 (+43% from 2021), but reduced to zero in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, resulting in an overall reduction of almost 2 times compared to 2021. The acreage is still insignificant, but this indicates the lentil farmers’ margin is still sufficient promoting its cultivation.

Pea areas decreased mainly in Zaporizhzhia region, which was the leader in pea production before the full-scale invasion. Odesa Oblast (21 K ha) is the leader in pea production in 2022.

The regional distribution of areas under peas in 2023 is similar to 2022, with Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts areas decreased even more due to the increased war risks in 2023 spring. Nevertheless, the area under peas has increased, according to the latest sowing data, to 139 K ha.

The increase in the 2023 peas area compared to 2022 (peas is Ukraine’s main legume crop) indicates that Ukrainian farmers have already adapted to work under high military risks and adapted the legume growing technology to the new realities, so we also expect an increase also in average yields in 2023 due to increased fertilizer and crop protection application.

Weather also looks rather positive to the legume production. Despite the lack of rainfall in May, when the pea crop needed moisture in the upper soil layers, the peas deterioration was not irreversible, as cool weather prevailed, preventing extra evaporation. That is, for peas the average yields forecast still at average level. UkrAgroConsult is optimistic for the planed areas of legumes in 2023. UkrAgroConsult estimates the total legume harvest in Ukraine at 390 K mt.

Despite the expected increase in the harvest, it is still not easy to export pulses from Ukraine. Not all importers are willing to take the risks associated with imports from Ukraine: long waiting times for entry and exit from Odessa, limited transshipment capacity of Danube ports, lengthened logistics via EU countries and ever-present military risks. UkrAgroConsult does not expect pulses exports in 2023/24 to exceed the previous season’s level (about 250 K mt).

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