In 2025, domestic pasta producers will, for the first time in the history of Ukraine’s independence, manufacture 50% of their products from durum wheat grown by domestic farmers, according to Rodion Rybchinsky, director of the Ukrainian Flour Millers Association.
“This year, for the first time, 50% of the durum wheat that we (pasta producers – IF-U) previously purchased abroad will be replaced by domestic wheat. If this trend continues, I think that Ukraine will stop importing durum wheat within the next two years,” he said at the Agro2Food Profit forum in Kyiv on Wednesday.
The expert attributed this import substitution to climate change in the country. Currently, the Mykolaiv, Odesa, Khmelnytskyi, and partially Vinnytsia regions are suitable for durum wheat production due to global warming, Rybchynskyi said.
The head of the industry association suggested that it is quite realistic that domestic processing enterprises will not be able to cope with the volume of durum wheat grown by farmers in the near future.
Rybchynskyi recalled that a mill is currently being built in the Lviv region to process durum wheat into pasta. At the same time, he noted that its capacity may not be sufficient to process all the durum wheat grown by farmers.
The head of the Ukrainian Flour Millers Association added that Ukrainian producers will definitely export such products, but the export volumes are unlikely to be comparable to those of Italy.
As reported, the private enterprise “Zakhidny Bug” is building Ukraine’s first mill that will process durum wheat, as well as a pasta factory. The mill is scheduled to start operating in October 2025, and the factory in September. The design capacity of the first stage of the mill is 80 tons per day for durum wheat and 150 tons per day for soft wheat varieties. The second phase will increase capacity by another 200 tons for durum and 300 tons for soft varieties. The total investment in the project will amount to UAH 1 billion.
Durum (Triticum durum – Latin) is a hard wheat with a high protein and gluten content, making it an ideal ingredient for pasta, bread, and other bakery products.
