The main crops in the field during the reporting period were winterwheat and cereals, while spring crops (maize, barley, and other cereals) werebeing sowed. Agroclimatic conditions for the country were above average overthe reporting period: rainfall (RAIN) increased by 20%, temperature (TEMP) wasslightly above average, while radiation (RADPAR) decreased by 3%. As a result,the biomass production potential (BIOMSS) also performed well. Crop conditionin the country was far below the five-year average before mid-February, butgradually returned to average afterwards. The VCIx index was also poor (0.68).According to the spatial NDVI patterns, which compare to the five-year averagesituation, almost the entire country underwent unfavorable conditions, with theexception of some small parts in the south. Unfavorable conditions at the timewinter crops (mainly wheat) were planted resulted in a drop of the cultivatedarea (CALF, -17 percentage points), which is likely to lead to a reduction inwinter crop production.

Figure3.30. Ukraine crop condition, January-April2017