By KYIV. Dec 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian farmers in 2023 year-over-year, increased the production of grain crops by 10%, oilseeds by 18%, sugar beets by 29%, meat of all types by 3%; at the same time, milk and egg production decreased by 2% and 5%, respectively, the Ukrainian Club of Agricultural Business (UCAB) said.
“Restoring agriculture in war conditions is an extremely difficult task for Ukrainian farmers. The seemingly good indicators for 2023 actually entail significant financial losses due to the low price of grains and oilseeds on the domestic market, limited and complicated exports. The production of most grains and oilseeds is unprofitable, and if there are no changes, next year’s performance is unlikely to be positive,” the club said.
UCAB notes that achieving pre-war indicators is still out of the question, because the trends in 2023 have only better dynamics compared to 2022.
Analysts of the business association pointed to an increase in grain production to 60.8 million tonnes and explained it by favorable weather conditions, which, despite a decrease in the use of fertilizers, helped farmers achieve good yields. Production volumes remain 31% below 2021 levels.
According to their information, in addition to the weather, the change in the structure of sown areas in Ukraine affected the growth of oilseeds production to 20.7 million tonnes.
The presence of developed domestic processing, the lower physical yield of oilseeds compared to grains, their higher price and, accordingly, a smaller share of significant logistics costs for export make oilseeds more attractive for cultivation, UCAB stated, adding that production volumes remain at 10% less than the pre-war figure.
Sugar beet production of 11.7 million tonnes exceeded the pre-war volume, but only due to the fact that in the occupied territories and territories where hostilities are currently taking place, unlike grains and oilseeds, sugar beets were not grown due to unfavorable natural and climatic conditions for it.
UCAB said the increase in production of meat of all types in 2023 to 3.1 million tonnes is mainly due to poultry farming. At the same time, production volumes remain 9% less than in 2021.
Milk production figures continue to fall: in 2023 they decreased by 2% to 7.5 million tonnes. The situation is similar with chicken eggs, which will be produced in 2023 by 5% less some 11.0 billion pieces, as stated by UCAB.
