Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Agrain has increased its spring crop acreage by 1.23 times—to 33,000 hectares

In the 2026 season, the Agrain agricultural holding increased its spring crop acreage by 1.23 times compared to 2025—to over 33,000 hectares.

According to a statement by the agriholding’s press service on Facebook, corn and sunflowers will remain the main crops in the planting mix. The area planted with corn will nearly double compared to 2025 levels, reaching over 25,000 hectares. The expansion of this crop will occur primarily in the Chernihiv, Cherkasy, and Zhytomyr regions.

At the same time, the company will reduce the area under sunflowers by nearly 39%—to 8,000 hectares—due to crop rotation requirements and consideration of climatic risks.

The crop mix will also retain 2,000 hectares of niche crops, including coriander, flax, and lentils. The company noted that these are used to improve crop rotation and restore soil fertility.

Agrain attributed the changes in its production plans to a combination of market priorities—specifically, rising demand for corn—as well as agronomic factors, such as stable yields and moisture levels.

Agrain is engaged in the cultivation and storage of grain and oilseed crops, as well as livestock farming. Prior to the full-scale Russian invasion, the agricultural holding comprised 11 agricultural enterprises. It cultivated approximately 110,000 hectares in the Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Odesa, and Cherkasy regions.

The holding’s owner is SAS Investcompagnie (France).

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“TAS Agro” has expanded its sunflower and corn acreage while reducing soybean plantings

The agricultural holding “TAS Agro” increased its sunflower acreage to 24,000 hectares and its corn acreage to 9,800 hectares for the 2026 season, the company announced on its Facebook page.

“This decision is primarily due to the declining economic attractiveness of certain crops and competition from more profitable segments within the production structure. In the 2026 season, we are focusing on a more diversified crop structure and crops with more predictable economics of cultivation,” the press service quoted Vladimir Shil, chief agronomist at TAS Agro, as saying.

According to the report, sunflower acreage increased by 54.8%, and corn acreage by 28.9%. At the same time, the largest reduction occurred in soybeans—by 65.8%, to 5,200 hectares. Due to unfavorable weather in the fall of 2025, the area under winter wheat decreased by 8.7% to 21,000 hectares, while winter rapeseed plantings expanded to 15,300 hectares (+9.3%). In 2026, the agricultural holding will introduce oilseed flax (140 ha) into its crop structure for the first time and will maintain 165 ha of production areas for industrial hemp.

The TAS Agro agricultural holding was established in 2014. Its land bank includes 88,000 hectares in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, and Mykolaiv regions. It specializes in crop production; the agriholding’s elevator capacity totals approximately 250,000 tons. The livestock business consists of a herd of 5,500 head of cattle, of which 2,500 head are milking cows.

The agricultural holding is part of the “TAS” group, founded in 1998. Its business interests span the financial sector (banking and insurance segments) and the pharmaceutical sector, as well as industry, real estate, and venture projects.

The founder of TAS and the beneficiary of the TAS Agro agricultural holding is Serhiy Tihipko.

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Agrotrade increases sunflower and corn acreage in 2026

Agrotrade agricultural holding has formed the structure of cultivated areas for 2026 and allocated the largest shares to sunflower (28.6%) and corn (24.9%), the agricultural group reported on Facebook.

“The changes in the crop structure are dictated by both economic calculations and the results of the previous season: niche crops — flax and winter peas — have been added, the area under soybeans has been reduced, and sunflower and corn crops have been increased. The priority is high-margin crops, in particular sunflower and winter rapeseed,” the agricultural holding emphasized.

It is noted that the crop structure also includes winter wheat (19.3%), winter rapeseed (13.8%), soybeans (7.3%), and flax (3.3%). Smaller areas are allocated to winter barley (1.6%), winter peas (0.7%), and industrial hemp (0.4%).

In 2026, the agricultural holding plans to increase the average yield by 0.17–0.79 t/ha, depending on the crop, by updating its approaches to plant protection and nutrition. Agrotrade will also continue to transform its production processes: it will switch to direct sowing, Strip-Till technology, and soil biologization, abandoning plowing.

The Agrotrade Group of Companies is a vertically integrated holding company covering the entire agro-industrial cycle (production, processing, storage, and trade in agricultural products). It cultivates over 70,000 hectares of land. Its main crops are sunflower, corn, winter wheat, soybeans, and rapeseed. It has its own network of elevators with a one-time storage capacity of 570,000 tons.

The group also produces hybrid seeds of corn, sunflower, barley, and winter wheat. In 2014, a seed plant with a capacity of 20,000 tons of seeds per year was built on the basis of the Kolos seed farm (Kharkiv region).

The founder of Agrotrade is Vsevolod Kozhemyako.

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Ukraine’s agricultural exports stabilized at 5 mln tons in February

According to the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UAC), agricultural exports from Ukraine totaled 5.0 million tons in February 2026, which is 0.3% higher than the previous month.

“This is the fourth month in a row that agricultural exports have remained at 5.0 million tons with minimal deviations. The main product currently being exported is corn,” analysts said.

In the export structure for February, grain crops accounted for the largest share—3.4 million tons, which is 1% more than in January. In this segment, corn accounted for 81% of supplies, and wheat—19%. At the same time, exports of oilseeds decreased by 14% to 303.5 thousand tons (soybeans — 72%, rapeseed — 25%, sunflower — 2%).

Supplies of vegetable oils to foreign markets in February fell by 9% and amounted to 437.7 thousand tons. In this category, sunflower oil accounts for 83%, rapeseed oil for 10%, and soybean oil for 7%. On the other hand, exports of oilcake after the extraction of vegetable oils increased by 14% to 470.4 thousand tons, with sunflower oil accounting for 75% and soybean oil for 25%. Exports of other types of agricultural products increased by 3% to 359.7 thousand tons.

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UCA predicts corn exports to grow to 23.8 mln tons in 2025/26 MY

Ukraine will export 23.8 million tons of corn in the 2025-2026 marketing year (MY, July-June), which is 8.3% more than in the previous MY, according to the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UACB) on Facebook.

According to the association, production volumes are gradually recovering after the occupation of part of the territory: the harvest will reach 29.9 million tons (+11.2% compared to last year), although this is 6.8% less than the average for the last five years.

Analysts explained the improvement in gross harvest by an 11.6% increase in acreage to 4.5 million hectares. At the same time, due to heavy autumn rains, the harvest was delayed, and the average yield was 6.6 t/ha, which is 0.3% less than in the previous marketing year.

The UAC noted that in the 2024/25 marketing year, corn exports decreased by 25.6% (to 22.0 million tons) due to lower production and a decrease in carryover stocks from 6.4 million tons to 3.7 million tons. Experts estimated total domestic consumption in 2025/26 MY at 6.2 million tons, of which 5.2 million tons will be used for feed, 182 thousand tons for seeds, and 418 thousand tons for non-food processing.

“The Ukrainian corn market remains flexible. Despite the loss of land due to temporary occupation and difficult weather conditions, farmers are managing to increase acreage and gross harvest. The crop meets domestic demand for animal feed and is returning to export growth, remaining one of the mainstays of Ukrainian exports,” the UCAAB concluded.

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Agroholding Agrotrade exported over 333,000 tons of grains and oilseeds in 2025

Agroholding Agrotrade exported over 333,000 tons of grains and oilseeds in 2025, according to the company’s press service on Facebook.

According to the report, 187,000 tons were produced in-house, while another 146,000 tons were supplied by third-party producers. The main export destinations remained Turkey, Egypt, Italy, and other countries in the Mediterranean region.

“The 2025 season has once again confirmed that flexibility and reputation are crucial in conditions of increased risk. Despite the difficult security situation, logistical constraints, and downtime, the Agrotrade Group’s export program was carried out without disruption throughout the year. Even when infrastructure comes to a standstill and risks for shipowners increase, our task is to fulfill our commitments. This is what allows us to maintain the trust of our international partners and continue our work,” said Andriy But, director of the agroholding’s foreign economic activity department.

Corn and wheat accounted for the bulk of exports. At the same time, there was a decline in soybean exports due to changes in the regulatory environment and the reorientation of part of the market toward domestic processing.

The agricultural holding also predicts that low export rates from Ukraine in the current season may lead to the formation of significant transitional stocks, which will affect the prices of the future harvest.

The Agrotrade Group of Companies is a vertically integrated holding company covering the entire agro-industrial cycle (production, processing, storage, and trade in agricultural products). It cultivates over 70,000 hectares of land. Its core crops are sunflower, corn, winter wheat, soybeans, and rapeseed. It has its own network of elevators with a one-time storage capacity of 570,000 tons.

The group also produces hybrid seeds of corn, sunflower, barley, and winter wheat. In 2014, a seed plant with a capacity of 20,000 tons of seeds per year was built on the basis of the Kolos seed farm (Kharkiv region).

The founder of Agrotrade is Vsevolod Kozhemyako.

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