KIEV, May 21 – The area of vineyards in Ukraine could be expanded by 1,000 hectares in 2013, the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine said in a report.

The ministry said that as of late 2012 the area of vineyards in the country stood at some 84,000 hectares.

"We forecast that, despite there being some objective factors that have resulted in a reduction in the volume of creation of new vineyards for the past few years, this year at least 1,000 hectares of new vineyards will appear in Ukraine," reads the report, citing the head of the horticulture and viticulture sector of the land department of the ministry, Viktor Kostenko.