March 20 2006, 13:04

Potato acreage will continue decreasing in 2006, the Ministry of Agriculture forecasts

According to the information provided to "Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" journal by the representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, potato acreage will continue decreasing in 2006 in Ukraine. To the Ministry's opinion, potato acreage decrease will constitute about 1%. If the weather conditions are better this year than in 2005, potato gross production can even grow. If this prognosis is confirmed, so it will be the sixth year characterized by potato acreage decrease in Ukraine.

According to the Ministry's prognosis, in 2006 the most significant acreage contraction will be observed in AR Crimea and Vinnitsa oblast. Potato acreage can also decrease much in Mykolaiv and Dnepropetrovsk oblasts. The officials of the Ministry of Agriculture observe the most vivid interest to potato production in Sumy, Zhytomyr and Kherson oblasts.

Andrey Yarmak, the Senior Market Information Specialist of the Agricultural Marketing Project informed "Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" journal that the Project's analysts can not confirm such a negative prognosis. Despite of the fact that seed potato prices grew 3-4 times in average compared to the previous year, several times more professionals and private agricultural producers are interested in marketable potato production. The expert thinks that this situation is predetermined by a high level of wholesale and retail potato prices in Ukraine observed at the present moment. In some regions, to A. Yarmak's opinion, potato acreage can really stay on the same level or decrease a little. However, the producers' majority has enough seed potato, or marketable potato to use as seed potato.

That's why, to the opinion of the analysts of the Agricultural Marketing Project, potato acreage will grow in Ukraine despite of the high prices on seed materials. Acreage growth will constitute about 2-5% throughout Ukraine. The more accurate information will be based on the potato acreage, production and prices forecast in 2006, carried out by the Project and published in "Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" journal and on AMP web-site www.lol.org.ua mid April 2006.