The Food from Ukraine platform symbolizes the expansion of Ukraine’s initiative from a focus on grain alone to finished products, as well as the transfer of technological knowledge, said Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture Oleksiy Sobolev at the opening of the IV International Food Security Summit “Food from Ukraine” in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Sobolev noted that Ukraine had already exported 5.8 million tons of wheat in the 2025-2026 marketing year.
“This is not just a figure, it is an indicator of the resilience of our agricultural sector, which continues to operate despite the destroyed infrastructure, constant logistical challenges, drone attacks, and daily risks,” the minister emphasized.
He cited USDA forecast data, according to which wheat exports from Ukraine will amount to 15 million tons by the end of the season, or approximately 7% of global trade in this product.
“This confirms that Ukraine continues, despite everything, to be a reliable partner for the global food market. (…) However, the issue of food security remains relevant and will only intensify. Ukrainian farmers provide food to hundreds of millions of people in different regions of the world, from North Africa to Asia. Our country remains a guarantor of global food security, ensuring the stability of supplies of grains, oilseeds, and livestock products,” Sobolev noted.
As the minister noted, Ukraine understands that demand for food will grow most rapidly. In the coming decades, Sub-Saharan Africa, which currently imports more than two-thirds of its food needs, will account for almost 14% of the increase. The average productivity of farms on this continent is only 40% of their potential, grain losses are up to 20%, and the density of mechanization is only 2-4 tractors per 100 square kilometers, which is dozens of times lower than in Europe.
At the same time, he noted the strong response to these challenges from African countries, which are investing in irrigation, mechanization, the creation of agro-industrial zones, the localization of equipment production, infrastructure development, storage, and processing. According to Sobolev, this is not just modernization, but a strategic course towards self-sufficiency.
That is why, according to the Minister of Economy, one of the strategically correct decisions for Ukraine is to transform the Ukrainian President’s Grain from Ukraine initiative into Food from Ukraine.
“The Food from Ukraine platform will form a new approach to global food policy, combining long-term financing of humanitarian programs with the creation of stable and secure logistics routes, the development of processing and production of products with high added value, the attraction of investments, the technological modernization of the agricultural sector, expanding cooperation with countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and island states, as well as establishing partnerships between the government, business, and international organizations to create a sustainable, predictable, and innovative global food system,” Sobolev emphasized.
The minister announced that Ukraine will begin creating a network of regional food hubs as part of this initiative. He showed a video presentation of the first project of such a logistics and processing hub, which is planned to be built in Ghana. Its basic infrastructure will be the storage, processing, and distribution of Ukrainian agricultural products, as well as the localization of modern technologies in West Africa.
Sobolev emphasized that Ukraine and Ghana signed a memorandum of cooperation in Kyiv on Wednesday, laying the foundation for long-term partnership and practical development of the initiative and creation of Food for Ukraine.
“Ukraine is ceasing to be a political donor of food. We are becoming part of the architecture of a new model of global food sustainability, a country that not only helps feed the world today, but also creates mechanisms for innovative production tomorrow,” the Minister of Economy concluded.
Ukraine exported 3.2 million tons of grains and oilseeds in the first four months of the 2025-2026 marketing year (MY, July-June), according to the Ukrainian Grain Association on Facebook.
According to the infographic, exports were most active in August (3.3 million tons) and October (3.21 million tons). At the same time, exports in October exceeded September figures (2.4 million tons) by 32%.
Wheat sales peaked in August at 2.048 million tons, which is 36.5% more than in October (1.5 million tons). Barley exports were also most active in August (324,000 tons), which is 36.1% more than in September (238,000 tons) and 62% more than in October (200,000 tons).
Corn exports, on the other hand, picked up in October and reached 1.094 million tons, significantly more than the September figure of 61 thousand tons and the August figure of 230 thousand tons.
Foreign trade in soybeans also picked up in October – 230 thousand tons, compared to 78 thousand tons in September and 208 thousand tons in August this year.
Rapeseed exports were most active in August – 519 thousand tons, while in September and October, 220 thousand tons and 177 thousand tons were delivered to foreign markets, respectively.
As of October 31, farmers harvested 40.2 million tons of grain and legumes from 8.77 million hectares, which is 76% of the area sown with these crops, according to the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture on its website.
Last year, on the same date, 47.2 million tons of grain were harvested from 11.106 million hectares, meaning that this year’s figures are 14.8% and 21.1% lower, respectively, mainly due to the later start of the corn harvest.
As noted by the Ministry of Economy, 10.36 million tons of corn have been harvested from 1.31 million hectares, while last year at around this date, 18.3 million tons were harvested from 3.07 million hectares.
As for wheat, its harvest is slightly higher than last year’s – 22.78 million tons from 5.05 million hectares compared to 22.30 million tons from 4.9 million hectares, while barley is slightly lower – 5.37 million tons from 1.35 million hectares compared to 5.50 million tons from 1.41 million hectares.
This year’s pea harvest is significantly higher – 660,700 tons from 271,300 hectares compared to 465,300 tons from 212,200 hectares last year, while buckwheat and millet are still significantly lower – 82,500 tons versus 126,900 tons and 61,500 tons versus 159,500 tons, respectively.
The harvest of other cereals and legumes this year reached 881.6 thousand tons from 317.6 thousand hectares as of October 24.
It is noted that among the leaders are, in particular, the Odesa region with 3.80 million tons, the Poltava region with 3.119 million tons, the Chernihiv region with 3.04 million tons, and the Vinnytsia region with 2.99 million tons.
The harvest of wheat, barley, and peas has been completed, the Ministry of Economy noted.
As for oilseeds, the rapeseed harvest has already been completed, and it turned out to be only slightly less than last year’s – 3.32 million tons against 3.5 million tons on almost equal areas of about 1.3 million hectares.
However, there is a significant lag in the harvesting of soybeans and sunflowers, which is still ongoing: 3.94 million tons of soybeans have been harvested from 1.52 million hectares, compared to 5.73 million tons from 2.52 million hectares on the same date last year, while sunflower seeds – 8.37 million tons from 4.24 million hectares compared to 9.599 million tons from 4.67 million hectares.
In addition, sugar beet harvesting is also lagging behind: 6.79 million tons have been harvested from an area of 130,100 hectares, compared to 9.5 million tons on the same date last year.
According to the Ministry of Economy, sunflowers have been harvested from 86% of the sown area, soybeans – 78%, and sugar beets – 66%.
In its Inflation Report published at the end of July, the National Bank of Ukraine lowered its forecast for this year’s grain harvest from 61.7 million tons to 57.9 million tons, and for oilseeds from 22 million tons to 21 million tons.
The NBU recalled that last year, the grain harvest in Ukraine fell to 56.2 million tons from 59.8 million tons in 2023, while oilseeds fell from 21.7 million tons to 20 million tons.
According to forecasts by Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Vysotsky, this year’s grain harvest will be around 56 million tons, the same as last year.
As of October 24, farmers harvested 37.560 million tons of grain and legumes from 8.400 million hectares, which is 73% of the area sown with these crops, according to the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture on its website.
Last year, on the same date, 45.1 million tons of grain were harvested from 9.7 million hectares, meaning that this year’s figures are 16.7% and 13.4% lower, respectively, mainly due to the later start of the corn harvest.
As noted by the Ministry of Economy, 7.71 million tons of corn have been harvested from 1.31 million hectares, while last year at approximately the same date, 15.4 million tons were harvested from 2.7 million hectares.
As for wheat, its harvest is slightly higher than last year’s – 22.80 million tons from 5.05 million hectares compared to 22.30 million tons from 4.9 million hectares, while barley is slightly lower – 5.37 million tons from 1.35 million hectares compared to 5.50 million tons from 1.41 million hectares.
This year’s pea harvest is significantly higher – 662,300 tons from 271,500 hectares compared to 465,300 tons from 212,200 hectares last year, while buckwheat and millet are still significantly lower – 83,300 tons versus 126,900 tons and 61,500 tons versus 159,500 tons, respectively.
The harvest of other cereals and legumes this year reached 876,700 tons from 317,600 hectares as of October 24, while last year it amounted to 1.1 million tons on the same date.
It is noted that among the leaders are, in particular, the Odesa region – 3.80 million tons from an area of 1.14 million hectares, Poltava – 2.86 million tons from 603.3 thousand hectares, Khmelnytskyi region – 2.55 million tons from 365,200 hectares, and Chernihiv region – 2.52 million tons from 407,700 hectares.
The harvest of wheat, barley, and peas has been completed, according to the Ministry of Economy.
As for oilseeds, the rapeseed harvest has already been completed, and it turned out to be only slightly less than last year’s – 3.32 million tons against 3.5 million tons from almost equal areas of about 1.3 million hectares.
However, the harvest of soybeans and sunflowers is still ongoing, and there is a significant lag: 3.50 million tons of soybeans have been harvested from 1.52 million hectares, compared to 5.6 million tons from 2.5 million hectares on the same date last year, while sunflower seeds – 7.84 million tons from 4.24 million hectares compared to 9.5 million tons from 4.6 million hectares.
In addition, sugar beet harvesting is also lagging behind: 5.64 million tons have been harvested from an area of 108,100 hectares, compared to 8.3 million tons from 170,600 hectares on the same date last year.
According to the Ministry of Economy, sunflowers have been harvested from 82% of the sown area, soybeans from 70%, and sugar beets from 55%.
In its Inflation Report published at the end of July, the National Bank of Ukraine lowered its forecast for this year’s grain harvest from 61.7 million tons to 57.9 million tons, and for oilseeds from 22 million tons to 21 million tons.
The NBU recalled that last year, the grain harvest in Ukraine fell to 56.2 million tons from 59.8 million tons in 2023, while oilseeds fell from 21.7 million tons to 20 million tons.
According to forecasts by Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Vysotsky, this year’s grain harvest will be around 56 million tons, the same as last year.
As of October 17, farmers harvested 34.749 million tons of grain and legumes from 7.979 million hectares, which is 69% of the area sown with these crops, according to the website of the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
Last year, on the same date, 42.8 million tons of grain were harvested from 9.4 million hectares, meaning that this year’s figures are 18.8% and 15% lower, respectively, mainly due to the later start of corn harvesting.
As noted by the Ministry of Economy, 4.91 million tons of corn have been harvested from 895,200 hectares, while last year at around this date, 13.2 million tons were harvested from 2.4 million hectares.
As for wheat, its harvest is slightly higher than last year’s – 22.78 million tons from 5.05 million hectares compared to 22.30 million tons from 4.9 million hectares, while barley is slightly lower – 5.36 million tons from 1.35 million hectares compared to 5.50 million tons from 1.41 million hectares.
This year’s pea harvest is significantly higher – 658,300 tons from 271,100 hectares compared to 465,300 tons from 212,200 hectares last year, while buckwheat and millet are still significantly lower – 82.4 thousand tons versus 124.8 thousand tons and 59.9 thousand tons versus 158.9 thousand tons, respectively.
The harvest of other cereals and legumes this year reached 896,200 tons from 304,700 hectares as of October 17, while last year it amounted to 1 million tons on the same date.
It is noted that among the leaders are, in particular, the Odesa region – 3.78 million tons from an area of 1.13 million hectares, Poltava – 2.66 million tons from 564,200 hectares, Khmelnytskyi region – 2.48 million tons from 356,900 hectares, and Vinnytsia region – 2.45 million tons from 440,100 hectares.
The harvest of wheat, barley, and peas has been completed, according to the Ministry of Economy.
As for oilseeds, the rapeseed harvest is only slightly less than last year’s – 3.31 million tons compared to 3.5 million tons from almost equal areas of about 1.3 million hectares.
However, the harvest of soybeans and sunflowers is still ongoing, and there is a significant lag: 3.08 million tons of soybeans have been harvested from 1.34 million hectares, compared to 5.2 million tons from 2.3 million hectares on the same date last year, while sunflower seeds – 7.19 million tons from 3.91 million hectares compared to 9.3 million tons from 4.5 million hectares.
In addition, the harvest of sugar beets is also lagging behind: 4.72 million tons have been harvested from an area of 90,000 hectares, compared to 6.5 million tons on the same date last year.
According to the Ministry of Economy, sunflower has been harvested from 76% of the sown area, soybeans from 62%, and sugar beets from 45%, while rapeseed harvesting has been completed.
In its Inflation Report published at the end of July, the National Bank of Ukraine lowered its forecast for this year’s grain harvest from 61.7 million tons to 57.9 million tons, and for oilseeds from 22 million tons to 21 million tons.
The NBU recalled that last year, the grain harvest in Ukraine fell to 56.2 million tons from 59.8 million tons in 2023, while oilseeds fell from 21.7 million tons to 20 million tons.
According to forecasts by Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Vysotsky, this year’s grain harvest will be around 56 million tons, the same as last year.
The logistics department of one of Ukraine’s largest grain market operators, Nibulon LLC, has transported over 40,000 tons of grain from its partners to the company’s elevators and ports since the beginning of the 2025-2026 marketing year (July-June), the grain trader’s press service reported on Facebook.
According to the report, about 100 of the company’s vehicles are currently working on harvesting its own products in various regions.
“33 trucks from the Nibulon fleet are fulfilling external orders, helping agricultural producers deliver their harvested crops on time,” the report said.
The agricultural holding noted that the company offers a full range of services for farmers: harvesting, transportation, storage, and further sale of products.
The “Transportation” service can be ordered via the NIBULON APP mobile application, where you can select a route, track your cargo in real time, and manage logistics from your phone. Grain is transported from the field to the Nibulon elevator, from the field to the port, and from the field to the warehouse.
The main advantages of the agricultural holding are an individual tariff depending on the distance (t/km); modern, economical equipment = lower cost; online cargo tracking; a chatbot for registering vehicles and unloading without queues.
NIBULON LLC was established in 1991. Before the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and complexes for receiving agricultural crops, a capacity for one-time storage of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugboats), and also owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82,000 hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries around the world. In 2021, the grain trader exported a record 5.64 million tons of agricultural products and supplied record volumes to foreign markets in August (0.7 million tons), in the fourth quarter (1.88 million tons), and in the second half of the year (3.71 million tons).
The grain trader is currently operating at 32% of its capacity, has created a special unit for demining agricultural land, and has been forced to move its central office from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
