Vysotskyi: It is not enough for Ukraine to export 50 million tons of grain per year

The annual export of grain in the amount of 50 million tons will not satisfy the Ukrainian sector.

To ensure this figure, it is necessary to reduce the sown area by 20-25%, which can affect the economy, said First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi.

“We manage monthly exports of 4 million tons without an active grain corridor and under conditions of restrictions. Such a figure will definitely not confuse anyone in Europe, it is conventionally 50 million tons per year. But such a figure will not satisfy our Ukrainian sector, because to ensure this figure we need to reduce the cultivated area by 20-25%. And this is a huge number of shareholders who live on rent, employees of agricultural enterprises, this is investment in equipment, etc. Therefore, simply abandoning a quarter of the territory and stopping sowing on it is painful and negative for the economy,” said Vysotskyi.

According to him, it is necessary to find a compromise not because of a decrease in exports, because the role of the agricultural sector is too significant.

“Let’s remember how in the 1990s everything systematically stopped, many fields were just in weeds. And it was possible to bring certain crops to production only in the 2010s, that is, it took 10-15 years. This is a very large potential loss. We hope that there will be understanding on the part of European countries, and we will continue to move together in the economy, as well as in cooperation against the aggressor. We can already see that there is a high probability of entering October, working together to overcome challenges,” added Vysotskyi.