The Weather Center predicts grain harvest at 44-45 million tons in 2011, Tetiana Adamenko, head of the Agricultural Meteorology Department, told Ukrainian News.

"We expect to gather good harvest of grain crops at 44 - 45 million tons," she said. This year's winter wheat areas are 700,000 hectares bigger than in the previous year, with the anticipated average yield of 28-29 centners per hectare (in 2010 it was 27 centners/hectare), she recalled.

Spring barley yield averages merely 20 - 21 centners/hectare, practically the same amount as it was last year, according to the Weather Center.

The farmers can reap the 45-million-ton grain in case of favourable conditions for maize harvest in July - August, Adamenko said.

Oilseeds, in particular sunflower, have ideal conditions for rich harvest, and the Weather Center forecasts its yield at 15.5 centners/hectare, according to the Agricultural Meteorology Department Head.

The weather center emphasized on optimum weather conditions for ripening grain crops and starting a harvesting campaign in southern regions based on increased soil moisture after several days of rainfalls in most regions. At the same time, some districts in Chernihiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv and Zhytomyr regions suffer from soil moisture deficit.

"On June 19-20 an active atmospheric front will come to Ukraine and bring rainfall of various density," Adamenko forecasts.

The atmospheric daytime temperature will then fall to +22 - +24C; after June 21 - 22 the temperature will rise to +30 - +35C, that is normal for June, she added.

As Ukrainian News reported, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food Supplies increased grain harvest forecast by 7%, or 3 million tons to 45 million tons in 2011.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) increased its forecast by 1.15% or 0.5 million tons for Ukraine's harvest to 44 of grain crops.

Ukrainian News Agency