In the first five months of the 2024-2025 marketing year (September 2024-January 2025), Ukraine exported more than 352 thousand tons of sugar to foreign markets, which is 17% more than in the same period of 2023-2024 MY, the press service of the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine Ukrtsukor reported on Facebook.
The business association emphasized that the entire exported volume was directed to the world market, while in September 2023-January 2024, the share of exports to the world market was only 9.5%.
“The significant increase in the world market share in sugar exports is the result of successful efforts of Ukrainian sugar producers to find alternative markets due to restrictions imposed on Ukrainian sugar by the EU,” the industry association explained.
The main export destinations for Ukrainian sugar in September 2024-January 2025 were Turkey (19% of total exports), Libya, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and North Macedonia.
Ukrtsukr noted that since January 1, 2025, the possibility of exporting sugar from Ukraine to the EU countries has been restored. During the first 5 months of 2025, the domestic producers will be able to export 107.3 thousand tons of sugar to the EU.
As reported, in the production season of 2024, Ukrainian sugar producers produced 1.8 million tons of sugar. The volume of the domestic market in Ukraine is currently estimated at 900 thousand tons per year.
In 2024, Ukrainian sugar producers set a historical record for sugar exports, exporting 746.3 thousand tons of this product to foreign markets for $419 million, according to the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine (Ukrtsukor), which announced the TOP-5 sugar producers in the 2024 season, the association’s press service reported on Facebook.
According to the report, Radekhivskyi Sugar topped the ranking with a 31% share in the total Ukrainian production, followed by Astarta Agro Holding with 21% of the market share, and Ukrprominvest-Agro with 14%. The fourth and fifth positions were shared by Teofipolsky Sugar Plant and Aspek Group with equal production shares of 6%.
As reported, in the 2024 season, which ended on January 21, 2025, 29 sugar factories operated in Ukraine. They produced a total of 1.8 million tons of sugar.
In 2024, Ukrainian sugar producers set a historical record for exports of sugar produced in the 2023-2024 marketing year and supplied 746.3 thousand tons of this product to foreign markets for $419 million.
The sugar market in Ukraine is stable, but with the opening of the European Union market in 2025, it opens up new prospects for Ukrainian producers, according to the analytical cooperative Pusk, created within the framework of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council.
The analysts reminded that since January 1, 2025, Ukrainian producers have gained access to the EU market thanks to new agreements on trade liberalization. This step has opened up the possibility for Ukraine to export large volumes of sugar to the European market without additional duties, which previously hindered the growth of supplies.
“The opening of the EU market is an important event for our industry. Currently, we are just starting to sign contracts for exports to Europe, but we expect a significant revival in this area in February-March. In January, we actively exported sugar to Turkey and African countries, but the European market is gradually becoming a priority,” the experts said.
According to them, the selling prices for sugar in Ukraine are 23-24.5 thousand UAH/t. This level is relatively stable, but seasonal factors and export expansion may lead to a gradual increase in prices in the near future.
“January-May is usually a period of seasonal growth in sugar prices. Probably, the current price level is one of the lowest, and the cost will continue to grow. The opening of the European market will also contribute to this dynamic,” experts predict.
In the coming months, the share of European supplies in the export structure will increase, which, in turn, will have a positive impact on the Ukrainian economy, Pusk summarized.
Ukraine’s sugar producers have completed the 2024 production season, the press service of the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine (Ukrtsukor) reported on its Facebook page.
According to the press service, 28 member plants of the association produced 1.724 million tons of sugar. In addition, in the 2024-2025 production year, another sugar plant that is not a member of the association also operated in Ukraine. According to the industry association, the total sugar production in the country amounted to 1.8 million tons.
“Thus, the volume of production in 2024 is actually equal to the figures of 2023, when the country produced 1.826 million tons,” Ukrtsukr summarized.
As reported by Interfax-Ukraine, citing data from the Ukrtsukor association, 37 sugar factories operated in Ukraine in 2023. One plant in the Kharkiv region, located in the de-occupied territory, was not ready to enter the processing season, as farmers in the region had not sown sugar beets.
Astarta, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, has completed the processing season of 2024, which lasted 133 days and was marked by a number of records, the company’s press service reports on its Facebook page.
“Astarta’s five sugar factories produced 380 thousand tons of sugar, which is the highest figure in the holding over the past seven years. In total, the companies processed more than 2.5 million tons of sugar beet grown on the fields of the agro-industrial holding and by our partners, agricultural producers,” the statement said.
Despite the difficulties with the quality of raw materials caused by abnormal weather conditions, the holding’s sugar yield was 14.96% (the average value in Ukraine was 14.06% as of January 01, 2025). According to the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine, this is the best industry indicator in the 2024 processing season.
“An important event of the season was the commissioning of a new sugar storage silo with a capacity of 60 thousand tons. This will significantly improve the quality of sugar storage and optimize logistics,” Astarta added.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR 61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR 145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR 618.93 million.
In 2024, Ukrainian sugar producers set a historical record for sugar exports, exporting 746.3 thousand tons of the product to foreign markets for $419 million, the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine (Ukrtsukor) reported.
“This is the highest figure for sugar exports within a calendar year according to statistics dating back to 1997, when the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine was established,” the industry association said.
Ukrtsukr added that 40% of exports in 2024 were directed to the European Union, 60% were supplies to the world market, where the main buyers of Ukrainian sugar were MENA (Middle East and North Africa) and North Macedonia.
