Ukraine can increase agricultural exports fourfold with $85 billion in investments

Ukraine has the potential to significantly boost its agricultural export volumes, increasing them more than fourfold – from the current $24.2 billion to over $100 billion per year. Such a leap is possible if the country shifts from raw material exports to large-scale production of processed products. This was stated by the president of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation, Leonid Kozachenko.

This is reported by AgroReview

Comparison with international experience and industry losses

Despite possessing nearly 30% of the world’s black soil, Ukraine lags significantly behind the Netherlands in agricultural production volumes, even though the latter has far fewer land resources. In the Netherlands, the annual production volume of food and processed products is about $108 billion. This demonstrates that Ukraine has considerable room for growth in agricultural exports through effective processing of agricultural products.

“If the genetic potential of plants and animals is realized at least 90%, Ukraine can achieve production levels of 150 million tons of grains and oilseeds, 25 million tons of milk, and up to 10 million tons of meat.”

Necessary investments to achieve goals

To achieve such large-scale export growth, the Ukrainian agrarian sector needs to attract $85 billion in investments over the next decade. The majority of the funds should be directed towards the development of the food, pharmaceutical, and perfume industries – $37 billion. An additional $18 billion is planned for investment in livestock, $8 billion in crop production, $5.5 billion in bioenergy, and $10 billion for logistics, horticulture, and greenhouse farming.

At the same time, Ukraine’s agricultural sector has already suffered significant losses due to military aggression from Russia: total capitalization losses exceed $120 billion, while direct losses are estimated at $11.5 billion. However, with the effective use of scientific achievements and investment resources, Ukraine can significantly strengthen its position in the global agricultural product market.