Kiev, Nov 21: Ukraine may harvest 16.5 million tonnes of sugar beet in 2000 compared to 15 million tonnes this year, while the sunflower seed crop will fall to 2.6 million tonnes from 2.7 million, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday."Our duty is to harvest no less than 16.5 million tonnes of sugar beet and 2.6 million tonnes of sunseed," agriculture minister Mykhailo Hladiy told a government meeting. Hladiy said this year's unfavourable weather had severely hit sugar beet. Earlier this year officials had forecast the crop at 16-17 million tonnes.
Officials have said Ukraine might produce about 1.6 million tonnes of white sugar this year, down from 1.875 million a year ago. No forecast was given for sugar output next year.
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