KYIV- Ukrainian farms had sown 1.32 million hectares of winter grains for the 2022 harvest as of Sept 20 or 17% of the expected area of 7.84 million hectares, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday.

The area will include 6.68 million hectares of winter wheat, 1.02 million hectares of winter barley and some area of rye, it said.

Farmers had sown 1.2 million hectares of winter wheat and 51,2500 hectares of winter barley, the ministry said in a statement.

It also said Ukraine would sow 1.03 million hectares of winter rapeseed and the sowing was 86% complete.

Last year, the autumn drought reduced the area planted with winter grains, and farmers sowed 6.1 million hectares of winter wheat, 954,700 hectares of winter barley and 125,200 hectares of rye for the 2021 harvest.

One of the major grain growers and exporters globally, Ukraine plans to harvest a record 80.6 million tonnes of grain in 2021. 

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, editing by Louise Heavens) ((pavel.polityuk@tr.com; +380 44 2449150; Reuters Messaging: pavel.polityuk.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))