The Cherkasy and Vinnitsa regions in central Ukraine, Mykolaiv and Odessa in the south, and Zhitomir in the north were most affected by the storms, it said.

More than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of seeded land in the southern Mykolaiv region were damaged by hail, it added.

A particularly cold and stormy autumn and winter last year destroyed 4.5 million hectares of seeded land, costing farmers nearly 1.9 billion dollars (1.6 billion euros), according to the agriculture ministry.

The country was plunged into crisis last week, with Ukrainians rushing stores amid fears that this year's harvest would be even worse than last year's.

Flour, grain and pasta prices have shot up by 30 to 100 percent as a result.

TERRA.WIRE