Having the largest area in Europe (603.6 thou sq. km), a significant share of agricultural land (about 70% of the country’s total area) and a favourable geographical location for farming Ukraine does not only provide food for its own people, but also for about 600 mln people all over the world.
Ukraine is a leading global supplier of agricultural products and plays an important role in ensuring a sustainable food system and global food security.
Based on 2020 results Ukraine is
- The world’s largest supplier of sunflower oil;
- 2nd largest supplier of barley;
- 3rd largest supplier of corn and rape;
- 5th largest supplier of wheat and honey.
Ukraine supplies food, commodities and feed to almost 130 countries of the world, some of which critically depend on the imported Ukrainian grain and oil crops. International markets started to respond with increased prices for wheat and some other products immediately.
The Ukrainian agricultural sector plays an important role creating almost 4 mln jobs and accounting for over 10% of the country’s GDP.
Currently, Ukraine has sufficient reserves of wheat, oil, corn and sugar for own consumption, however, due to hostilities, export has been suspended, there are difficulties with logistics and sowing campaign 2022.
To secure this year’s sowing campaign the government has already taken some steps:
- VAT and excise duty for fuel and lubricants have been decreased;
- A ban on export of critical food products has been imposed and declarative export licensing of certain types of products has been introduced;
- A ban on export of fertilizers has been imposed;
- Support to agricultural producers, soft lending etc have been introduced;
- Operation of agricultural machinery is allowed without registration during the martial law, additional seed certification procedures have been cancelled.
Work is in progress…
In many regions the biggest problem is access to land, because the aggressor continues hostilities on our territory. Evidently, a lot of time will be needed for a full recovery, but farmers are ready to start the season immediately.
For the agro-industrial sector functioning and spring field works the following is needed:
- Fuel and lubricants for agricultural machinery;
- Mineral fertilizers – 80% available;
- 75% of seeds are available – a lot of farmers plan to make changes to their crop rotation based on the current conditions;
- Plant protection products – only 55% available, but there is still time to refill the stocks until their application in May-June;
- Support and establishment of export of permitted crops – the majority of export was via sea routes which are now blocked;
- Support in relocation of enterprises from the occupied territories, in particular, livestock production units. Please, inform about the enterprises that are remaining on the occupied territories and are posing threat, in particular, to the environment on https://www.saveecobot.com.
- Veterinary antimicrobials and vitamins, biologicals for large-scale livestock and poultry production units;
- Veterinary vaccines and sedatives;
- Waters purifiers, detergents and disinfectants for meat processing and other food enterprises, livestock farms etc – the demand is constantly growing!
The problems related to procurement of the following remain:
- Non-perishable foods for civil population and defenders of Ukraine: canned food, field rations and ready-to-cook food, as well as disposable tableware,
- Pet food and feed for zoo/wild animals.
Platforms of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection:
Online platform for improving logistic routes for farmers under martial law (UA)
Information materials:
