Today, Ukraine has been in a state of full-scale war for almost four years. This is an extremely challenging period that creates extreme conditions for the country’s economy and business. As a result of the Russian Federation’s invasion, Ukraine had to ensure the “survival” of all sectors to make further functioning and development of the state possible. One of the leading sectors, the preservation of which had strategic importance for Ukraine, is the agricultural sector.
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Since February 2022, the war has caused the Ukrainian agricultural sector over $100 billion in losses. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of agricultural land are mined, port infrastructure is systematically shelled, and production and exports have decreased. This was reported by Andriy SHABELNYKOV, Managing Partner of the EvrikaLaw law firm, Chairman of the Committee of the National Association of Lawyers on Investment and Privatization, for agronews.ua.
However, despite all the challenges, the agribusiness not only managed to survive but also ensured a gradual recovery of pre-war levels of agricultural production and exports.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture, in 2025 Ukraine harvested 57.6 million tons of grain crops and 17.3 million tons of oilseeds. It is expected that after the final corn harvest, the total grain production will reach about 60 million tons.
The Ministry emphasized that these figures are of particular importance in the context of Ukraine’s European integration course. In terms of grain production volumes, Ukraine currently ranks second among the countries of the European Union.
It is also worth noting that in corn production, Ukraine remains the undisputed leader: in 2025, 23.5 million tons were harvested, while the total EU figure is 57 million tons. The country also leads in sunflower seed production – 9 million tons compared to 8.5 million tons in all EU countries combined.
Special attention should be paid to the state of Ukrainian agricultural exports since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
According to the Ministry of Economy, from March to December 2022, Ukraine was able to export 38.93 million tons of grains. In addition, 3.26 million tons of sunflower oil and other agricultural products were sent abroad.
The first months of the war were characterized by an increase in exports by rail, but already in May, the volumes of supplies through seaports exceeded the railway indicators. Starting from June 2022, exports through seaports actively increased, and in September-October and December, they reached over 5 million tons per month.
The year 2024 can be considered significant in terms of agricultural exports. Thus, the volume of agricultural exports reached a peak in the years of the major war – 70.1 million tons. The most was realized in corn (28.84 million tons) and wheat (19.87 million tons). Additionally, 5.84 million tons of sunflower oil were sold.
However, in 2025, the situation changed for the worse.
In the first ten months of 2025, Ukraine exported 37.35 million tons of grains, almost half as much as in the same period last year, and comparable to the level of March-January 2022. Thus, we see that the export level approached the volumes at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
In 2025, the main exported crops were corn (13.53 million tons) and wheat (11.76 million tons). The volume of sunflower oil exports was 3.5 million tons. The highest monthly export volume of agricultural products through seaports was recorded in March – 4.2 million tons.
It is worth noting that in 2025, Ukraine’s revenues from agricultural exports decreased by $2.15 billion, reaching $22.53 billion. This result is 8.8% lower than the previous year, indicating a gradual loss of growth rates in the sector, which traditionally plays a leading role in the structure of Ukrainian exports.
According to the Ukrainian Agrarian Business Club, the share of the agro-industrial complex in the country’s total exports in 2025 was 56.1%, slightly less than the record 61% in 2023.
At the same time, a key trend of the year was the reduction in the supply of Ukrainian agricultural products to the countries of the European Union. If in 2022-2024 the EU’s share in the structure of agro-exports consistently exceeded 50%, in 2025 it decreased to 47.5%, or $10.7 billion. This reflects both changes in global market conditions and internal logistics and competition factors.
Certainly, such indicators are a consequence of Russian aggression and restrictions on port infrastructure and logistics in general.
However, a significant problem remains the “black export” of agricultural products, on which Ukraine is losing billions of dollars. This leads to insufficient filling of the state budget to finance key expenditures on defense and other areas of state policy.
It is worth noting that the reason for the “black export” is the imperfect state policy regarding the regulation of logistics issues for small farmers.
Today, small agricultural producers who grow products on 100 hectares or even 500 hectares of land do not have access to predictable logistics and cannot supply their products directly to the end consumer.
For example, to sell their products, farmers have to spend significant time and resources searching for agricultural product suppliers to sell their goods.
In turn, exporting agricultural products abroad is a real challenge, as the export procedure is extremely complex and bureaucratic. Along with this, the issue of logistics remains, as the farmer needs to organize the delivery, for example, of grain to the port and negotiate its sale.
We understand that the produced agricultural products must be sold in the shortest possible time due to the limited shelf life. Therefore, farmers often choose other ways to sell their products, namely through dubious intermediaries who work unofficially.
As a result, significant volumes of agricultural products are exported with cash payment without proper accounting.
Thus, the state loses incredible amounts of potential taxes.
It is also important to pay attention to the products being exported. Thus, Ukraine historically supplies mostly raw materials to international markets, not finished agricultural products. Considering the significantly lower value of such goods, our country also loses the potential profit from the sale of already processed and ready products.
Therefore, as of today, for the development and reconstruction of Ukraine’s agricultural sector, it is necessary to take comprehensive measures to support small farmers, establish transparent and clear logistics of goods from the producer to the end consumer. Along with this, technological development of the agricultural sector requires special attention. It is important to shift the focus from exporting raw materials to supplying high-quality Ukrainian agricultural products.