Ukrzernoprom Agro admitted its crops were among those damaged by Ukraine's dry autumn as the government attempted to hammer out plans to support farmers through the "critical situation".

Shares in group's holding company slumped 18% in early deals.

The Ukraine farm operator, fresh from completing a 250,000-tonne grains harvest off more than 80,000 hectares of land, said that more than 10% of its autumn sowings were "at risk".

Wheat, over 2,900 hectares, accounted for most of the "weak" crops, with more than 1,400 hectares of rapeseed also under threat, and 850 hectares of barley.

"These areas can be lost under cold and snowless weather conditions," Ukrzernoprom Agro said, adding that crops in the group's farms in Khmelnitskiy, Nikolayev and Odessa in southern Ukraine, and Dnepropetrovsk further north, had been worst affected.

'Very critical'

However, the group held out hope for the grain crops, saying that "weather forecasts for the next two weeks promise minor precipitation and a gradual temperature decrease that can improve the state of barley and wheat".

And the results appear better than the average for Ukraine, where government estimates this week placed 70% of winter crops in poor condition, including 30% already lost, thanks to the dry autumn, which meant that many seeds failed to germinate, and those that did struggled to gain condition needed to brave the winter.

"The situation is very critical," Agritel's Kiev office said, adding that the extent of the damage could not be fully assessed "until the end of winter", when crops emerge from dormancy.

Ukraine's farm ministry is drawing up a plan to assist farmers now facing a huge spring reseeding programme, estimated at 2.4m-4m hectares, of lost crops, on top of normal spring sowings.

Support under consideration includes subsidies for fertilizer and fuel.

"Leaders are thinking about measures that could be implemented in spring 2012 to help farmers deal with this critical situation," Agritel said.

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The prospect of larger-than-normal spring plantings holds out the prospect of larger-than-normal sowings of spring crops popular in Ukraine, which include barley, corn and sunflowers.

Fyodor Vlad, the Ukrzernoprom Agro operator director, said that areas needed reseeding would be planted with "the main three crops, such as sunflower seeds, corn and soybeans".

Shares in MCB Agricole Holding, the groups Frankfurt-listed holding company, slumped 18% in early deals before recovering some ground to stand at E2.094 in lunchtime trade, down 9.7% on the day.