For farmers of all regions, the issue of export and extension of the Istanbul Agreement is urgent. If it is not possible to export by sea, this puts the spring sowing under threat. Everything will affect the reduction of sown areas in the spring, including the front line, the number of demined areas, the adoption of a law on the decriminalization of agricultural production in the occupied territories.

The Chair of the UAC, Andrii Dykun, said this on Channel 5:

"Prolongation of the Istanbul Agreement is a critical issue. Today, we can export up to 7 million tons of agricultural products, and we still have its surplus. Considering that we have barely lived a year, and if the grain corridor is not extended, the issue of spring sowing will appear. I hope that the relevant agreements will be reached, as almost 20% of Ukraine's GDP is the agricultural sector, so export is a key factor. The western borders are not enough for the agricultural industry export. We have surpluses of about 15 million tons that need to be exported."

According to him, it is currently impossible to estimate the current harvest, as the harvesting campaign is delayed due to weather conditions.

"We cannot predict how much we will harvest. This year, harvest is not usual. We gather sunflowers in mid-October because of the rains. This was not the case before. In Rivne Oblast, the yield is half as much, in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast - one and a half times lower, in some places the sunflower simply rots," said the head of the UAC. 

As for the corn, harvesting has not yet begun, but this crop must be exported, because Ukraine is unable to process it.

"The corn is not harvested yet. But we are not ready to process it, for this we need large bioethanol plants, developed animal husbandry, so we have to take it out," Andrii Dykun believes.

The reduction of sown areas in spring will be affected not only by the grain corridor, but also by other factors.

"In the spring, it is unclear where the front will be, so we cannot calculate the possible sown areas. In the south, agrarians will be afraid to sow, because it is necessary to adopt a law that agricultural production is not collaboration. In addition, we have the largest mining of agricultural land ever known," Andrii Dykun added.