Country Profiles - Ukraine

In 2009 agri benchmark won UCAB - the Association Ukrainian Agribusiness Club - as a valuable partner for extending the agri benchmark analysis to the Ukraine. This partnership is supported by the German Ministry of agriculture and the DLG.

Below you find some basic information on Ukrainian agriculture. Detailed information on UA2500ZH - one of the Ukrainian typical farms within the agri benchmark network located in the region Zhytomir - is provided as download. In the near future, further information on the other typical farms in Ukraine will follow.

Arable Farming in Ukraine

Ukraine can be divided into three distinct agro-climatic zones. The steppe zone in the south has highest temperatures. Wheat is grown across Ukraine with hot spots in the central and western regions.

Rapeseed which currently covers a maximum of 1 million ha is predominantly grown in the western region.

Share of wheat in arable land 2009

Share of rapeseed in arable land 2009

Rapeseed which currently covers a maximum of 1 million ha is predominantly grown in the western region.

Land use in Ukraine

The graph below displays the downturn of the Ukrainian agricultural sector in the transition period, starting from early 1990s. Since 2000, the sector has been recovering again, new long overdue investments were made, more land cultivated and higher yields obtained.

In 2009, wheat, barley and sunflower were the major cultivated crops in Ukraine. Since the 1990s acreage of corn silage dramtically reduced as livestock numbers gradually declined. Due to low prices and a difficult market environment, sugar beet production also dropped. On the other hand, the harvested area of sunflower, corn, rapeseed and soybeans has been on the rise during last 10 years.