Rich Agriculture of Ukraine

Agriculture in Ukraine secures approximately 10-11% of national GDP and employs a quarter of working population.

Ukraine has 42.8 m/ha of agricultural land comprising 71% of the country’s total area, of which 32.5 m/ha is arable (excl. pastures, grasslands, permanent plantings etc.).

Ukraine has favorable climate for large-scale agriculture, rich agricultural soils and access to abundant land and water resources. 

Ukraine is richly endowed with chernozem (also known as “black soil”), one of the most fertile soils worldwide.

Chernozem, a black-colored soil that contains a very high percentage of humus (3% to 15%) along with phosphoric acids, phosphorus and ammonia, occupies 41% of Ukraine’s total area and even more of its agricultural land (54%), and plow land (58%).

Thirty percent of the world's black soil is in Ukraine, and 42 million of the country's 60 million hectares (231,660 square miles) is agricultural land where wheat, barley, rapeseed and sunflowers grow in abundance.

The crops constitute about 55% of the total agricultural output. Among the leading crops are wheat, maize, sunflowers, sugar beets, tobacco, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Livestock farming includes cattle, pigs, sheep, horses etc. 

By virtue of its unspoiled soil, Ukraine is also emerging as a major producer of organic food. Already, hundreds of thousands of acres are devoted to organic farming and agricultural officials and outside experts believe that Ukraine can become a major exporter and help satisfy the increasing demand in Western Europe for such products.

Annual production of wheat in Ukraine is 15 to 22 million t. The entire cereal production reaches 90-100 mn t. Local needs, even if dramatically increased, take 35 to 40 mn t., making around 50-60 mn t. available for exports in the sphere of agriculture. Ukraine thus occupies sixth place on the world grain export market.

Most of the exported grain is destined for the countries of Middle East and North Africa. The local Ministry of Economic Development and Trade subjects export contracts for certain groups of agricultural products to registration. The key items exported from Ukraine are subjected to licensing and/or quotas where applicable and must be registered prior the export.