Ukraine's agriculture sector warns of impact, IMF is monitoring the situation closely

On June 8, the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture assessed that the country could lose millions of tons of vegetables due to flooding after the Kakhovka dam broke in the south of the country.

The area of the collapsed Nova Kakhovka dam in the Kherson region, southern Ukraine. (Source: Reuters)

The dam collapse would flood tens of thousands of hectares of farmland in the South and could turn at least 500,000 hectares of undrained land into desert, the ministry said.

Wetlands will need to be fully assessed for soil conditions and special soil restoration measures will be required. Vegetables, melons, cereals and oilseeds are the main crops grown in affected areas.

Ukraine is a major world producer and exporter of grain and oilseeds.

Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky also said that the damage to the agricultural sector could be greater than previously expected, due to the multi-year impact on irrigation.

Previously, on June 7, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that they were "very concerned" about the social, economic and environmental impacts of the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam.

“It is too early to assess the full impact of the damage to the economy. We are monitoring the situation closely,” an IMF spokesman said.

Ukraine is currently waiting for the IMF executive board to approve a $900 million disbursement from the IMF's new $15.6 billion loan program.

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