By KYIV. May 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The demand for Ukrainian commercial amaranth seeds and amaranth oil in Europe has grown more than 10 times than in several previous years, the area under this crop in Ukraine is growing, Chairman of the Association of Producers of Amaranth and Amaranth Products Oleksandr Duda has said.
“This year, we are encouraging farmers not only to gain experience in growing amaranth but also to target large areas (from 50 hectares) to generate substantial income,” he wrote on Facebook.
According to Duda, who previously estimated the average yield of amaranth at 1-2 tonnes per hectare, the cost of growing amaranth is up to UAH 14,000 per ha, while agreements on the purchase of crops can be signed at a price of UAH 25,000 per tonne, and organic at UAH 40,000 per tonne.
According to him, in 2023, fields under this crop are also expanding in Ukraine, in particular, in Chernihiv region.
“Last year, 29 hectares of amaranth of the Kharkivsky-1 variety were sown in Chernihiv region. This year, more than 600 hectares of amaranth will be sown in Chernihiv region,” he said, adding that the information on the sown area is not final, since the sowing of amaranth in the northern regions of Ukraine will start after May 25.
The head of the industry association recalled that the crop sowing begins after the soil warms up to +18 Celsius.
Previously, Duda estimated the area under amaranth in Ukraine at 2,000 hectares in 2020 compared to 3,800 hectares in 2019.
