KYIV, March 9 (Reuters) - Ukraine's spring sowing campaign will start with a two-week delay due to frozen soil and remaining snow, the Ukrainian economy ministry said on Monday.
Farmers in the southern Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions traditionally start sowing in the second half of February if weather conditions are favourable.
Officials and producers have not yet announced detailed plans for sowing spring crops for the 2026 harvest, but their area may increase due to the damage to some winter crops caused by record frosts in several central regions.
Extreme frosts hit Ukraine in February, with temperatures dropping to minus 28 degrees Celsius (-18.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas.
State weather forecasters said last month that up to 10% of winter crops had died in some fields in northern and western Ukraine due to frost.
According to current estimates by the economy ministry, the average loss of winter crops across the country will not exceed 5%, but the loss rate in the central Kirovohrad region may reach 40% and in the Vinnytsia region 30%.
The lost areas are usually replanted with either corn or sunflower, but the final decision is made by farmers at the last minute based on the market situation. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Jan Harvey)
