Big harvest will not bring profits to Ukrainian farmers due to export restrictions

Due to limited export opportunities and low domestic prices, the Ukrainian agricultural sector will remain unprofitable despite a good harvest in 2023, which is 5-10% more than last year. This was stated by First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky.

“During the two years of full-scale war, agricultural production in Ukraine has remained high and even exceeded last year’s figures by 5-10%. This applies primarily to corn. With a smaller cultivation area, the output will reach 29-30 million tons. The situation with soybeans and rapeseed is similar,” Vysotsky said.

At the same time, according to the deputy minister, the price situation has become worse compared to last year.

“If it was the same plus 5-10%, it would be calmer in principle. But, unfortunately, the price situation indicates that at current prices the industry will be unprofitable this year,” Vysotsky stated.

He reminded that two weeks ago, representatives of leading agricultural associations announced estimates of losses for the agricultural sector in 2023 at $3.5 billion.

“Unfortunately, this figure corresponds to reality. On the scale of our agro-industrial complex, this is a significant large negative figure,” the Deputy Minister confirmed.

In his opinion, the problem can only be solved by improving logistics, as optimization of export routes automatically means higher prices on the domestic market.

As reported, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food estimates the 2023 harvest at 79 million tons, which is at least 7 million tons more than last season.

Tags: crop forecast, war, Ukraine, export, grain, restrictions