Shares in Landkom jumped 10% in early deals after the Ukraine farm operator's chief executive, Vitaliy Skotsyk, forecast that a rosy outlook for rapeseed prices following a "particularly hard winter" for crops.

The London-listed group, which also announced the resignation of a director to fight the UK's general elections, said its own autumn-sown rapeseed had emerged relatively from the harsh winter, with 2% lost.

Nationwide, losses had averaged 28%, on Ukraine agriculture ministry figures, a level which looked sufficient to boost the prices of the oilseed, one of Landkom's major crops.

"Given the high levels of rapeseed losses across Ukraine, which is one of the largest producers in the world, we would expect to see potential upside in pricing over the coming weeks and months," Mr Skotsyk said.

'Heavy losses'

The comments follow a warning from Kiev-based consultancy UkrAgroConsult that the level of winterkill among Ukrainian rapeseed held the key to global prices of the crop, which in Paris touched E312 a tonne last week, its highest since June.

The group has estimated that 350,000 hectares of the 1.42m hectares of winter rapeseed was lost to the difficult conditions which, besides severe cold, left huge areas trapped under an ice crust.

In Kharkiv, in the east of the country, where the ice crust lasted for up to two months, 85% of rapeseed has been estimated as lost, and up to 60% of grains.

"Heavy losses were registered in weak winter wheat crops especially in those sown with poorly winter-resistant West European varieties," UkrAgroConsult said.

"At the same time, frost-resistant winter wheat varieties of the Kharkiv and Donetsk selections showed survival rates at 80-90%."

Director quits 

Landkom said it had lost none of its winter wheat, compared with a national average of 10% winterkill.

The group, which sowed 21,400 hectares with winter rapeseed and wheat, also unveiled that UK politican Gerald Howarth had become the latest director out of Landkom's revolving boardroom door.

Mr Howarth, Conservative MP for Aldershot, is "to focus on both the general election and his career in politics thereafter", the group said. He had been a Landkom director for more than two years, and was paid a salary of $39,000 in 2009.

Landkom has seen a series of boardroom departures over the last year, including that of founder Richard Spinks as chief executive.

The group in January revealed the departures of farming director Ben Adams and non-executive director John Laurence Holyoake had stepped down from the board.

Landkom shares closed 0.12p higher at 6.25p, after touching 6.75p earlier.