Ukraine’s corn harvest may climb to 24 million metric tons this year as farmers increase planting of the grain, French farm adviser Agritel wrote on its website, without providing a year-earlier figure.

Corn sowing in Ukraine is being finalized, and the area planted with the grain rose to about 4.5 million hectares (11.1 million acres) from 3.5 million hectares in 2011, according to Paris-based Agritel, which has an office in Kiev.

Production potential is “very large” because weather conditions are mostly favorable for developing crops, the adviser wrote. While temperatures are summery, frequent downpours in central Ukraine are providing the water required for growth, Agritel said.

Taking into account weather forecasts for coming days, only the southern regions Odessa, Nikolaev, Kherson and the Crimea still face drought concerns, according to Agritel.

Bloomberg