The total area of farmland having the status of organic land expanded by10.2% in 2017 from a year ago, reaching 420,000 ha (1% of total farmland in Ukraine). According to information posted on the website of the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry, in the past five years the total area of organic farmland in Ukraine expanded 1.5-fold.
By the total area of farmland certified as organic, Ukraine ranks 11th in Europe and 20th in the world. At the same time, almost half of the land is under grain cultivation (45.4%), more than 18% are oilseeds and 5.3% are legumes, followed by vegetables (1.6%) and fruits (0.7%). Most of the organic lands are located in Kyiv, Odesa, Kherson, Zhytomyr, Lviv, Khmelnytsky, Vinnytsia and Poltava regions. In 2017, the consumer market of organic products in Ukraine amounted to EUR 29.4 million, and per capita consumption was EUR 0.68 per year (for comparison, the EU resident spends EUR 60.5 per year on organic products).
The main types of organic products that are produced and consumed in Ukraine are fruits, vegetables, cereals, meat and dairy products, cereals and bakery products. The range of organic products includes more than 100 products of Ukrainian origin.
According to the Reform Support Team under the ministry, in 2017, in Ukraine there were 529 organic market operators. The volume of exports of organic products in 2017 increased by 10%, 330,000 tonnes and amounted to EUR 99 million. About 98% of exported products are raw materials. The largest consumer countries of the Ukrainian organic goods are: the Netherlands, Germany, the U.K., Italy, Austria, Poland, Switzerland and Belgium. The main export products are cereals, oilseeds, legumes, berries, fruits and wild plants.
