News
26.02.2010
Nibulon working to grow sorghum in Ukraine
Nibulon on Feb. 22 that the company is cooperating with Syngenta and Reylin Enterprises, Inc. to begin growing sorghum in the country's southern regions.
Andriy Vadaturskyy, deputy general director of Nibulon, said sorghum has a more favorable economics than spring barley.
"The price for sorghum on the world market has a rigid peg to the price for corn and bargains at a discount of $20," he said. "Thus, for a fixed rate, price for sorghum will be 960-1,080 UAH per ton. Today we have brought Ukrainian sorghum on the world market and are ready to buy up to 1 million tonnes of the culture."
According to Nibulon, representatives of local administrations and companies that specialize in grain and oilseeds production, seed production, logistical support of agricultural production, husbanding and trade of agricultural products were invited to attend a sorghum workshop, which was held on Feb. 18.
"It is a unique situation when Syngenta, Reylin and Nibulon united in a project on sorghum cultivation," said I. O. Boyko, country manager of Syngenta. "This project invited producers from all over Ukraine, because the volumes that Nibulon mentioned are very large, they are 1 million tonnes of export, with subsequent increasing of 1 million tonnes annually. Thus in five years we have to reach 5 million tonnes of export. This is a high rate and a great work."
According to V.T. Barbaruk, chief executive of Reylin, in southern and southeastern regions of Ukraine, there is a lack of moisture and crop rotation it is difficult to form an economic crop. Sorghum is an attractive alternative to barley and corn, Barbaruk said. Sorghum is drought resistant. It is also much more plastic which allows for a high stable crop annually. Also, the cost value of sorghum crop is lower.
There are a lot of drivers for sorghum, because this culture is easier to care for and it has longer term of growth," Barbaruk said. "Today, the average yield of barley is about 2 tonnes per hectare. At the same time, the average yield for sorghum is 6 tonnes per hectare. That is why we believe that instead of corn and barley in southern Ukraine sorghum should be cultivated."
World Grain
