Agricultural production in Ukraine: An insight into the impact of the Russo-Ukrainian war on local, regional and global food security

Abstract

The ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war is affecting Ukrainian agriculture. For example, Ukraine is no longer able to export agricultural products such as grains and cereals by sea to regional (European) and international markets, although this has been partially mitigated by the creation of a "grain corridor". As a result, food security in Ukraine, and to some extent, in the region (EU) and globally, is at some risk, especially in countries that rely heavily on agricultural imports from Ukraine. About 70% of the land in Ukraine is used for agricultural production. This paper provides an overview of Ukrainian agricultural production using statistics for 2018-2022, based on available literature, as well as FAO and official Ukrainian government statistics. Global production of the main grain crops and cereals (wheat, maize, barley, rapeseed, and sunflower), ranging between 2.9 and 6.6%, showed an upward trend in 2017-2021. Ukraine accounted for 9, 12, 12, 14, and 50% of the global trade market (import + export) in 2020/2021 for wheat, maize, barley, rapeseed, and sunflower oil, respectively. About 75% of agricultural products and services (892,852 million UAH in total) come from the crop industry, with the remainder from the livestock industry. Fertilizer export was banned in 2022.

Keywords

• agricultural production
• economic reform
• fertilizer
• grains
• pre-war and post-war restoration
• wheat