Stevie Wonder: None!
The (recently elected) Ukraine Ag Ministry announced earlier in the week that spring sowing had been completed on 2.6 million hectares of land, which is only 46% of planned area, well behind the 96% sown at the same time a year ago.
My sources on the ground over there however tell me that they'd be surprised if it's even as much as that, with not much activity anywhere due to an acute lack of cash.
Hmmmm, an estimated further million hectares needs to be resown due to winterkill too, and where's the cash going to come from too?
Having exported just about everything they've got things have gone pretty quiet in Ukraine, apart from the gnashing and wailing of exporters trying to get their VAT refunds off their brassic government that is.
Ukraine's new farm minister, Mykola Prysyazhnyuk, recently assured us that winter grain crops had escaped with "no serious losses" and that production this year would match, and maybe even beat last season's 46 MMT.
I smell a rather large rodent. Don't get too comfy in that new chair Mykola, it might be your head on the block when that prediction turns out to be about as accurate as Stevie Wonder at the world darts championship.
"It's all gone quiet here at the Alexandra Palace as Stevie steps up to the oche."
Cue mental image of fat blokes clutching pints and brassy orange women in Phil The Power Taylor replica shirts diving under tables for cover.
"Stevie Wonder: None!"
My sources on the ground over there however tell me that they'd be surprised if it's even as much as that, with not much activity anywhere due to an acute lack of cash.
Hmmmm, an estimated further million hectares needs to be resown due to winterkill too, and where's the cash going to come from too?
Having exported just about everything they've got things have gone pretty quiet in Ukraine, apart from the gnashing and wailing of exporters trying to get their VAT refunds off their brassic government that is.
Ukraine's new farm minister, Mykola Prysyazhnyuk, recently assured us that winter grain crops had escaped with "no serious losses" and that production this year would match, and maybe even beat last season's 46 MMT.
I smell a rather large rodent. Don't get too comfy in that new chair Mykola, it might be your head on the block when that prediction turns out to be about as accurate as Stevie Wonder at the world darts championship.
"It's all gone quiet here at the Alexandra Palace as Stevie steps up to the oche."
Cue mental image of fat blokes clutching pints and brassy orange women in Phil The Power Taylor replica shirts diving under tables for cover.
"Stevie Wonder: None!"
