The National Bank of Ukraine has lowered its forecast for the vegetable harvest in 2026 from 8 million to 7 million tonnes, which is 12.5% below the previous estimate.
As noted in a report by the Experts Club information and analytical center, based on the NBU’s October Inflation Report published on November 6, 2026, lower potato and vegetable harvests negatively affected agricultural performance indicators.
Compared with 2025, when Ukraine harvested 8.2 million tonnes of vegetables, the projected decline in production amounts to 1.2 million tonnes, or 14.6%.
For comparison, the gross vegetable harvest amounted to 6.8 million tonnes in 2024 and 9.9 million tonnes in the pre-war year of 2021.
Thus, expected production in 2026 remains 2.9 million tonnes, or 29.3%, below the pre-war level.
At the same time, the NBU’s updated forecast for 2027 also envisages lower production volumes than previously expected.
In particular, the vegetable harvest forecast for next year has been reduced from 8.1 million to 7.4 million tonnes, or by 8.6%.
Compared with 2026, this would mean a possible increase in production of 400,000 tonnes, although the harvest volume would still remain significantly below the 2021 level.
A reduction in vegetable production may create additional risks for the food market, particularly given the highly seasonal nature of supplies and the need for long-term storage of some products.
At the same time, the impact on prices of individual types of vegetables may vary significantly depending on the harvest of a particular crop, its quality, the availability of stocks, and import volumes.
According to the State Statistics Service, vegetable prices fell by 2.3% in September 2026 compared with August, demonstrating the impact of a seasonal increase in supply on consumer prices.
For Ukrainian vegetable producers, the main areas for improving resilience remain the development of irrigation, modernization of vegetable storage facilities, expansion of greenhouse production, and processing.
At the same time, the final results of the 2026 vegetable season will depend on the outcomes of harvesting and the revision of official agricultural statistics.
agricultural sector, EXPERTS CLUB, HARVEST, PRODUCTION, UKRAINE, VEGETABLES
As of November 3, 2026, Ukrainian farmers had harvested 5.07 million tonnes of sugar beets from an area of 102,200 hectares, which is 25.4% less than the preliminary figure recorded on October 31, 2025, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine reported.
According to the ministry, by the beginning of November, sugar beet harvesting had been completed on 59.8% of the projected area.
For comparison, as of October 31, 2025, 6.79 million tonnes of root crops had been harvested from 130,000 hectares, or 66% of the area projected at that time.
Thus, the current gross sugar beet harvest is approximately 1.73 million tonnes lower than last year’s figure.
One reason for the lower production volumes is the smaller harvested area. At the beginning of November this year, it stood at 102,200 hectares compared with 130,000 hectares a year earlier, a decline of 21.4%.
Meanwhile, the average sugar beet yield in 2026 stands at 496.1 centners per hectare, compared with 522.6 centners per hectare according to comparable preliminary data for 2025.
The decline in yield is approximately 5.1%.
According to current figures, around 68,700 hectares, or 40.2% of the projected area, remain to be harvested before the sugar beet harvesting campaign is completed.
Sugar beets are the main raw material for Ukraine’s sugar industry. Their production volumes directly affect the capacity utilization of sugar factories, processing costs and the formation of sugar supply in the domestic market.
At the same time, the current decline in the gross harvest does not mean a corresponding decrease in finished sugar production, as its volumes also depend on the sugar content of the root crops, processing efficiency and the completion of the season.
The final results of sugar beet production in 2026 will become known after the harvesting campaign is completed.
According to Experts Club, the Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kirovohrad regions led Ukraine in the area planted with winter grain crops for the 2027 harvest. As of November 4, farmers in these three regions had planted 1.372 million hectares, or 30.9% of the total area in Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.
The largest area planted with winter grains was recorded in the Mykolaiv region—500,000 hectares. Of this, 401,000 hectares were planted with wheat and triticale, 97,000 hectares with barley, and 2,000 hectares with rye.
In second place is the Dnipropetrovsk region, where 475,600 hectares have been sown with winter grains. Wheat and triticale account for the bulk of the crops—421,800 hectares. Another 52,100 hectares are allocated for barley and 1,700 hectares for rye.
The Kirovohrad region ranks third with 396,700 hectares. Specifically, 360,500 hectares are allocated for wheat and triticale, 34,800 hectares for barley, and 1,400 hectares for rye.
Other regions with the largest areas planted with winter grains include the Odesa region with 395,000 hectares, the Poltava region with 281,200 hectares, the Cherkasy region with 225,400 hectares, and the Khmelnytskyi region with 223,300 hectares.
In total, 2.497 million hectares have been planted with winter grains in these seven regions, accounting for 56.1% of the total area in Ukraine.
At the same time, the geographical distribution of winter rapeseed plantings differs somewhat from that of grains.
The Odesa region leads in this crop with 195,000 hectares, while the Vinnytsia region ranks second with 125,000 hectares. Next are the Mykolaiv region—98,000 hectares, the Khmelnytskyi region—85,700 hectares, and the Ternopil region—79,300 hectares.
Thus, the Mykolaiv region ranks among the top three regions in terms of both winter grain and rapeseed plantings, while the Odesa region is the largest production region in terms of winter rapeseed acreage.
In total, as of November 4, 2026, Ukrainian farmers had planted 4.448 million hectares of winter grains, or 85.4% of the forecast. Winter rapeseed plantings totaled 1.152 million hectares, or 104.2% of the plan.
The total area planted with winter grains and rapeseed reached 5.599 million hectares.
Compared to the same date last year, the total area planted with these crops decreased by approximately 309,000 hectares, or 5.2%. However, the reduction in grain plantings was partially offset by an increase in the area planted with rapeseed.
Operational indicators for the planting campaign reflect the actual planted areas as of the reporting date and may change after the completion of fall fieldwork.
Source: Ministry of Agrarian Policy, operational data on winter crop planting as of November 4, 2026.
agricultural sector, GRAIN, planting season, RAPESEED, UKRAINE
As of October 27, 2026, Ukrainian farmers had harvested 7.89 million metric tons of corn from an area of 1.33 million hectares, which is 23.9% less than as of October 31 of last year, according to data from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.
According to the ministry, corn harvesting has been completed on 29% of the projected area. The average yield is 59.5 centners per hectare, compared to 61.5 centners per hectare last year, representing a decrease of approximately 3.3%.
As of October 31, 2025, farmers had already harvested 10.36 million metric tons of corn from 1.68 million hectares.
Thus, the current shortfall in gross harvest is primarily due to the smaller area harvested, rather than solely to a decline in yield.
The area of threshed corn in 2026 is currently 21.3% less than last year’s figure, provided for comparison.
At the same time, the pace of harvesting has accelerated significantly over the past week. The gross corn harvest has increased from 5.4 million to 7.9 million metric tons, or by approximately 2.5 million metric tons.
Despite the acceleration in harvesting, a significant portion of the crop remains in the fields. By the end of October, farmers are expected to harvest approximately 71% of the projected corn acreage.
Therefore, it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions about the crop’s gross production based on preliminary statistics.
Corn is one of Ukraine’s main agricultural export crops and an important raw material for the animal feed industry, starch and syrup production, and other processing sectors.
Its production volume affects the agricultural sector’s export potential, the utilization of transportation infrastructure, and the supply of grain on the domestic market.
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food also reported that the total harvest of grains and legumes in Ukraine reached 41.7 million metric tons from 72% of the projected area.
Meanwhile, the harvest of wheat, barley, and peas has already been fully completed. Their gross harvests exceed last year’s figures by 15.2%, 23.2%, and 26.2%, respectively.
Source: Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, operational statistics as of October 27, 2026.
Ukraine has transferred 773 seed samples of ten agricultural crops from its national collection to the Global Seed Vault on the Svalbard archipelago in Norway.
The samples transferred to the Arctic seed vault include triticale, barley, buckwheat, millet, peas, white lupine, vetch, Sarepta mustard, alfalfa, and clover. These samples represent valuable genetic resources from Ukrainian plant breeding, which are essential for developing new varieties, adapting agriculture to climate change, and ensuring food security.
According to the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (NAAS), the seeds were prepared by the V.Y. Yuryev Institute of Plant Growing and the Ustymiv Experimental Station of Plant Growing. Scientists selected the most valuable samples and ensured their testing, packaging, and documentation under wartime conditions.
“Preserving the national plant gene pool is a matter of our national security and ensuring food stability for future generations,” emphasized Taras Vysotsky, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, as quoted by SEEDS.
According to him, transferring the duplicate collection to an international repository will protect the unique achievements of Ukrainian plant breeders from risks associated with the war.
This transfer marks the second such event in Ukraine’s history. The previous deposit of Ukrainian seeds on Svalbard took place in 2012.
According to the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, these two transfers have ensured the backup storage of genetic material representing approximately 10% of the national seed collection.
Ukraine’s National Plant Genetic Bank contains over 154,300 samples of 2,002 plant species. Of these, approximately 56,900 samples are of Ukrainian origin. The collection includes genetic material from cereals, legumes, oilseeds, forage crops, and other agricultural crops.
Preserving this collection is of strategic importance for agricultural science. Genetic diversity enables breeders to develop new varieties that are resistant to drought, diseases, temperature fluctuations, and other adverse growing conditions.
Following the outbreak of full-scale war, Ukraine’s system for conserving genetic resources came under threat due to hostilities, damage to scientific infrastructure, and the risk of losing unique collections.
To protect the seeds, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with financial support from the European Union, implemented a program to establish backup storage facilities in collaboration with the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (NAAS) and international partners.
As part of this initiative, 51,000 seed samples were evacuated to the western regions of Ukraine, and in November 2025, a permanent backup center was opened, equipped with modern laboratories and specialized infrastructure for the long-term storage of genetic material.
Storing part of the collection on Svalbard provided an additional layer of protection. In the event of damage to or loss of Ukraine’s primary collections, the backup samples can be used to restore genetic resources.
At the same time, the transferred seeds remain the property of Ukraine. The international repository ensures their storage without transferring ownership rights to the genetic material.
Ukraine has also acceded to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which entered into force for the country on August 12, 2026. This creates additional opportunities for international scientific cooperation and the protection of agricultural biodiversity.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is located on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, above the Arctic Circle, and has been in operation since 2008. It was established for the long-term backup storage of genetic resources of agricultural plants from around the world.
According to the vault’s administration, as of 2026, it holds more than 1.4 million seed samples provided by gene banks and scientific institutions from various countries.
During the October 2026 ceremony, 21 research institutions from various regions of the world donated samples. In total, the repository received more than 16,000 new samples.
The project is supported by the Norwegian government, the Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen), and the international organization Crop Trust. Its primary goal is to ensure the restoration of crop varieties in the event of wars, natural disasters, man-made disasters, or other threats to plant genetic diversity.
Sources: SEEDS, publication dated October 16, 2026; V. Ya. Yuryev Institute of Plant Growing, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine; Svalbard Global Seed Vault, announcement dated October 14, 2026.
agricultural sector, FOOD SECURITY, plant breeding, SEEDS, UKRAINE
Ukrainian fruit and vegetable producers presented a unified national booth at the international Fruit Attraction 2026 exhibition, which is taking place October 6–8 in Madrid, according to Volodymyr Pechko, honorary chairman of the “UKRSADVINPROM” public association.
According to him, Ukraine’s participation in the exhibition has not only promotional but also practical export significance, as it gives producers the opportunity to work directly with international buyers, importers, retailers, and distributors.
“For Ukrainian producers, this is an opportunity to directly present their products to international buyers, find new partners, establish export contacts, and demonstrate that the Ukrainian horticulture and berry sector continues to operate, develop, and enter international markets even amid the war,” Pechko noted.
Fruit Attraction is one of the largest international trade shows in the fruit and vegetable sector. It is organized by IFEMA MADRID and FEPEX. In 2026, the exhibition will be held for the 18th time and has brought together approximately 2,500 companies from 78 countries. The exhibition covers 162,000 square meters, and organizers expect over 121,000 trade visitors from more than 150 countries.
The Ukrainian national pavilion features “Vitamin 2025,” the “Gadz” farm, “Agrarian Company 2004” LLC, “Gribnyi Biznes” LLC, “Alta Kraina,” the “Korsun” agricultural firm, the “Vladam” farming enterprise, the “Yu-Food” public association, and the “UKRSADVINPROM” public association.
The national pavilion is organized by the “UKRSADVINPROM” Public Association, headed by Volodymyr Pechko. The organization represents the interests of Ukrainian producers in the horticulture, berry, grape, winemaking, and nut sectors.
According to Pechko, participation in such international events allows not only individual companies to be represented but also helps shape a cohesive image of Ukraine as a reliable producer and exporter of high-quality agricultural products.
The national pavilion was organized with the support of the International Trade Centre as part of the EU4Business project, funded by the European Union, under the patronage of the relevant Ukrainian ministries and the Embassy of Ukraine in Spain.
Fruit Attraction is being held in Madrid from October 6 to 8. The exhibition covers the entire fruit and vegetable supply chain—from the production of fresh fruits and vegetables to processing, packaging, logistics, technology, and international trade.
agricultural sector, EXPORTS, Fruit Attraction, HORTICULTURE, UKRAINE, UKRSADVINPROM, ПЕЧКО
