Ukraine should increase the share of processed products in agricultural exports, — Ministry of Economy

Ukraine retains the role of one of the key suppliers of grain on the world market. At the same time, the key task is to create more value within the country.

This was stated by Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine Taras Vysotskyi at the International Grains Council (IGC Grains Conference 2026) conference.

“Ukraine remains an important part of world food security even in wartime. We have preserved exports, adapted logistics and proven the reliability of the Ukrainian agricultural sector for the world market. Now our task is to create more value within the country. We already have strong examples: sunflower oil and meal, where Ukraine holds strong positions, as well as bioethanol, the export of which has almost tripled since the beginning of the full-scale war. The development of processing means jobs, investments and stronger positions of Ukrainian producers,” Taras Vysotskyi noted.

In the 2025/26 marketing year, according to preliminary estimates, Ukraine can export about 14 million tons of wheat, 25 million tons of corn and 1.52 million tons of barley. This is approximately 6%, 12% and 4% of world exports of these crops, respectively.

At the same time, it is increasingly important for Ukraine to increase the share of processed products in agricultural exports. In particular, to expand processing to the following areas: grain, soybeans, rapeseed, feed ingredients, biofuels and bioeconomy. This requires investments in processing capacity, access to financing, military risk insurance, stable trade policy, harmonization of standards with the EU and investment protection.

Such an approach will strengthen Ukraine’s position in external markets, increase export sustainability and increase economic returns from the agricultural sector.

USM previously reported that the Minister of Economy called for reorienting agricultural exports from raw materials to processed products.