Increasing agricultural exports to $100 bln requires attracting $85 bln in investments over 10 years – Kozachenko
Ukraine can increase annual agricultural exports from $24.2 billion to over $100 billion by switching from exporting raw materials to increasing the production of deep-processed products, which requires $85 billion in investments, said president of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation (UAC), Leonid Kozachenko.
"We have better opportunities than most other countries, because nearly 30% of the world’s black soil is concentrated in Ukraine. What is surprising, however, is that a country like the Netherlands, with 4.5 times less land, produces food and related products worth about $108 billion. They use less than 20% of their own raw materials and import 80%, yet rank second or third globally, while we, with our own raw materials, are only in the third dozen," he said at the Profitable Agribusiness 2026 conference.
According to the expert, total losses in capitalization of Ukraine’s agricultural sector due to Russia’s military aggression are currently estimated at more than $120 billion, while direct losses amount to $11.5 billion. In particular, nearly 4.7 million to 5 million hectares of land remain mined or contaminated with heavy metals. Livestock losses include 5 million chickens, 350,000 pigs and 150,000 cows. In addition, more than 7,000 units of agricultural machinery and hundreds of logistics facilities have been lost.
Kozachenko expressed confidence that if the genetic potential of plants and animals were realized at least at 90%, Ukraine would be capable of reaching production levels of 150 million tonnes of grains and oilseeds, 25 million tonnes of milk and up to 10 million tonnes of meat.
To realize this potential, Ukraine will need to attract $85 billion in investment over the next 10 years, according to the president of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation. The funds would be directed to the development of the food, pharmaceutical and perfume industries, totaling $37 billion, and to livestock farming, with $18 billion. In addition, $8 billion would go to crop production, $7 billion to restoring irrigation, and $5.5 billion to the development of bioenergy. Another $10 billion would be allocated to logistics, horticulture and greenhouse farming.
To stimulate the development of the agricultural sector, the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation proposes introducing land and grid-connection incentives for deep-processing plants, providing a 25% subsidy for equipment, and creating a specialized mortgage banking institution. It also proposes involving international companies in certifying products to European standards directly in Ukraine.
"We have identified more than $50 billion in financial resources to create Ukraine’s first mortgage bank, which investors were ready to provide. Everything is in place to launch this mechanism — we just need to work together to persuade officials to start using it. We must realistically cross the threshold of $100 billion in gross output, and this should be our strategic priority for the next decade," Kozachenko said.
The president of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation also unveiled joint proposals from several agricultural associations calling for faster privatization of state-owned enterprises that could be integrated into processing chains and for stimulating the development of industrial parks with special fiscal conditions. The associations, in particular, propose introducing 10% subsidies for companies that use domestically produced deep-processed inputs and providing state guarantees to foreign creditors for the purchase of technological equipment.
