Miller Magazine Issue: 131 November 2020

87 MARKET ANALYSIS MILLER / November 2020 re harvest based on a decrease in sown areas by 10% compared to last year. Some market participants believe that this season's price rally and the onset of rains will allow more winter wheat to be sown than expected. But this will require a higher than predicted temperature in November. In the US, planting is ahead of last year, but the market expected a faster planting rate. The pre- cipitation that fell over the past weeks has improved the situation with moisture reserves. According to the Hydrometeorological Center, as of the beginning of the second decade of Oc- tober, 60-65% of the areas in Ukraine have sufficient moisture for the beginning of the autumn growing season of winter gra- in crops. In an inter- view with APK Inform agency, the head of the agrometeorology department of the Ukrhydrometeocenter T. Adamenko indi- cated that there are areas where water- logging was recorded due to two or three monthly precipitati- on rates that cannot complete the sowing season. However, drought persists in the eastern region of Ukraine. Against the background of the rapid growth of prices in ports, it is possible that producers will chan- ge their intentions and the reduction in area will not be so significant. Sowing in the United States and Russia continues rapidly despite drought, which has suppor- ted prices due to fears of declining back-to-back crop production. But the rains of the second half of October improved the situation both in the Black Sea region and in the United States, so the risks have already partially