According to Experts Club, as of November 4, 2026, Ukrainian farmers had planted 1.152 million hectares of winter rapeseed, which is 91,300 hectares, or 8.6%, more than on the same date last year, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine reported.
According to the ministry, farmers have fulfilled 104.2% of the rapeseed planting forecast, exceeding the initially planned area by approximately 46,000 hectares.
Thus, winter rapeseed became the only major winter crop whose planting not only exceeded the forecast but also showed significant growth compared to last year.
By comparison, the total area planted with winter grain crops as of early November decreased by 8.3% compared to the same date in 2025. Wheat and triticale plantings were down by 8.1%, and barley plantings by 12.1%.
At the same time, winter rapeseed is showing the opposite trend, which may indicate increased interest among agricultural producers in growing oilseeds.
The largest areas of winter rapeseed are concentrated in the Odesa region, where 195,000 hectares have been planted. This accounts for about 16.9% of the crop’s total area in Ukraine.
The Vinnytsia region ranks second with 125,000 hectares, and the Mykolaiv region ranks third, with 98,000 hectares sown with rapeseed.
The top five also include the Khmelnytskyi region with 85,700 hectares and the Ternopil region with 79,300 hectares.
In total, these five regions account for 583,000 hectares, or 50.6% of all winter rapeseed acreage in Ukraine.
Over the past week, the area under cultivation has increased by 16,900 hectares. As of October 28, 1.135 million hectares had been planted, or 102.7% of the forecast.
Winter rapeseed is one of Ukraine’s main oilseed crops and an important raw material for the production of vegetable oil, feed ingredients, and biofuel. A significant portion of the rapeseed grown in Ukraine is traditionally exported, primarily to European countries, where it is used in the food industry and biodiesel production.
The increase in planted area sets the stage for growth in rapeseed production during the 2027 season; however, the final harvest volume will depend on weather conditions, the condition of the crops after winter, and yield.
As reported, as of November 4, 2025, 1.060 million hectares had been planted with winter rapeseed in Ukraine.
Sources: Ministry of Agrarian Policy, press release dated November 4, 2026; Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture, data as of November 4, 2025.
Tea and coffee producer Monomakh PJSC (Kyiv Oblast) increased its revenue by 21.4% in January–September 2026—to 2.25005 billion UAH—while its net profit rose by 4.6%—to 128.07 million UAH.
According to the company’s report filed on Thursday with the disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), gross profit increased by 41.0% to 798.17 million UAH, while operating profit rose by 10.5% to 238.31 million UAH.
According to the report, revenue in the third quarter rose by 20.4% to 739.01 million UAH, while net profit increased 2.7-fold to 103.64 million UAH.
This growth was driven by a 64.2% increase in gross profit—to 313.42 million UAH—while selling expenses rose by 32.1%—to 135.30 million UAH—and administrative expenses increased by 13.8%—to 25.62 million UAH.
“To minimize the risk of product loss due to possible rocket attacks, the company implemented organizational and logistical measures aimed at preserving inventory, optimizing their storage, and reducing the time products spent in warehouses. In particular, supply routes were adjusted, and there was a partial shift from deliveries via warehouse complexes to direct delivery of products to retail outlets,” the report states.
The company specified that in the second quarter, it produced 1.29 thousand metric tons of products compared to 1.39 thousand metric tons in the second quarter; export revenue rose to 13% of total sales from 11% in the previous quarter.
According to the report, Monomakh’s main customers (accounting for more than 5% of total revenue) are include ATB-Market LLC, METRO Cash & Carry Ukraine LLC, JAMP LLC, and Silpo-Food LLC.
The company identified “Trypilske Sonce” LLC, “Capsoul” LLC, and “TS Trade” LLC as its main competitors.
The largest creditor is Raiffeisen Bank—516.97 million UAH out of 661.81 million UAH in total bank loan debt, with an interest rate of 16% per annum.
PJSC “Monomakh” was founded in 2000. It produces packaged tea and coffee products under the brand names LOVARE, “Monomakh,” “Three Elephants,” “Tea Masterpieces,” “KAIF,” Ferrara, and “Coffee Masterpieces.” The average number of employees is 567. The ultimate beneficial owner is Taras Barabash.
In 2025, the company increased its revenue by 22%—to 2.77 billion UAH—but saw its net profit decline by 40%—to 181.84 million UAH.
COFFEE, EXPORTS, FINANCIAL RESULTS, LOVARE, Monomakh, PROFIT, REVENUE, tea
AFINA Group LLC, owned by Ruslan Shostak and Valery Kiptik—co-owners of the EVA and Varus retail chains—has made its first shipment of products to Latvia, the company’s press office reported.
“Entering the Latvian market is another important step in the development of AFINA Group’s exports. It is fundamental for us that we are entering the European market with products of Ukrainian origin and are gradually expanding the geographic reach of our own brands. The first shipment to Latvia is already a full-scale commercial shipment, and our next task is to develop distribution and brand presence in local retail,” said Yevhen Svitailo, head of the export department at AFINA Group, as quoted by the press service.
Latvia has become the seventh country where AFINA Group has an export presence, following Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Estonia. Three of the company’s brands—SARMIX, Polar Shine, and Bubble Bunny (the European version of the Vukhashtik brand)—have entered the Latvian market simultaneously. The first shipment includes SARMIX and Bubble Bunny laundry detergents, as well as Polar Shine products.
OZZ has become AFINA Group’s partner in Latvia and will work on expanding the distribution of Ukrainian products in the local market. A presence in the DEPO retail chain is being considered as one of the most promising sales channels.
In addition, it is reported that AFINA Group is continuing negotiations with international partners and working to expand its sales geography so that “Made in Ukraine” products become increasingly visible on the shelves of foreign retailers.
As previously reported, in June 2026, AFINA Group resumed operations of the tower-type production line for laundry detergents at the facilities of PJSC “Vinnitsapobutkhim.” The planned capacity of the tower-type production line is 95 metric tons of dry laundry detergent per production shift.
In August 2025, AFINA Group won an online auction for the privatization of the nationalized PJSC “Vinnitsapobutkhim” with a bid of 608.136 million UAH against a starting price of 301.406 million UAH.
AFINA Group has been operating in the Ukrainian market for over 20 years. It is one of the leading operators in the fields of distribution, logistics, and private label development. The ultimate beneficiaries are Ruslan Shostak (47.5%), Valerii Kiptik (37.5%), Serhii Pototskyi (10%), and Serhii Zaikov (5%).
The company manufactures products under the “Vukhastik,” “SARMIX,” and “iFresh” brands. It serves key national and local retail chains through its own extensive network of branches and distribution logistics centers.
According to data from the YouControl analytical system, in the first quarter of 2026, AFINA Group LLC increased its revenue by 0.65%—to 1 billion 527 million 185 thousand UAH, while net profit amounted to 90.4 million UAH, compared to 156,087,000 UAH in the first half of 2025.
The Ukrainian steel industry is going through very difficult times, and the likelihood that the sector will survive to participate in post-war reconstruction is low—not only because of the war, but also due to restrictions imposed by the European Union, said Oleksandr Vodoviz, head of the office of the CEO of the Metinvest Group, according to a correspondent for Interfax-Ukraine.
“In the steel industry, half of the companies have gone bankrupt. And not because of the war… Is the steel industry ready to ensure recovery? Let’s hope we live to see that recovery, because the way things are going, we won’t make it. We need to take a sober look at the truth: the plants have been bombed; we’re not talking about millions of dollars in losses, but billions,” he said at the fourth “Economic Truth” export forum in Kyiv this week.
In addition to the need to rebuild metallurgical plants after the war, Vodoviz also highlighted a staffing problem that was already acute before the war, when European companies were poaching Ukrainian workers. According to him, despite the losses, Metinvest is currently retaining its staff, but this remains a pressing issue.
“Will we be able to ensure recovery? If we rebuild the plants and find the people,” he noted.
Vodoviz also stated that one of the main issues for the Ukrainian metallurgical industry right now is to secure the same level of export quotas to the EU as existed in 2025, at the very least.
According to him, Ukraine’s metallurgical sector does not question the strategic goal of integrating into the EU’s internal market, but recent actions by Brussels—the introduction of the CBAM carbon tax and restricted quotas, which, despite promises, in no way take into account the fact of the war in Ukraine and the losses incurred by the Ukrainian industry—cast doubt on the mutual progress toward this goal.
A Metinvest representative clarified that the quotas currently amount to 40% of last year’s exports.
“Our number one problem is, of course, the strikes on steel mills; all our steel enterprises have been destroyed, are in ruins, and are not operating. Four days ago, Zaporizhstal was struck again—seven missiles. And in this situation, we are trying to explain to the Europeans that they should grant us quota reductions,” Vodoviz described the situation.
As previously reported, “Ukrmetallurgprom” criticized the EU’s decision to restrict imports of Ukrainian steel products, which had been supplied to Europe duty-free for the first three years following Russia’s full-scale aggression. The association believes that Ukraine currently poses no threat to European producers because, due to the war, steel production in the country initially fell from 40 million metric tons to 7.5 million metric tons, and now almost all steel plants have been shut down due to shelling.
The total transit of grains and oilseeds from Ukraine through neighboring Moldova, Slovakia, and Hungary increased by 46.5% in September compared to August, but the bulk of the increase came from Moldova and Slovakia, Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday.
According to his data, transit through Moldova rose by 59.7%—to 107,000 metric tons in September from 67,000 metric tons in August; through Slovakia—by 61.5%, to 336,000 metric tons from 208,000 metric tons; and through Hungary—by 8.5%, to 115,000 metric tons from 106,000 metric tons.
“An increase is possible; we’ll see how much. We’re working on all fronts,” Vysotsky emphasized.
At the same time, he refrained from making any forecasts.
“We’ll report the actual results every month,” the minister noted.
Regarding the prospects for opening a maritime grain corridor, the head of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy stated that “there are currently no signals from our partners that could be interpreted as providing any kind of planning horizon.”
“The situation remains unchanged—no more, no less,” Vysotsky said.
Earlier, the minister reported that in September, Ukraine managed to export 2.4 million metric tons of agricultural products, or 46% of what was supposed to be exported, including 1.4 million metric tons of grain (38%), 444,000 metric tons of oilseeds (83%), oil—311,000 metric tons, or 64%, and meal—280,000 metric tons, or 46% of the potential required exports.
EXPORTS, GRAIN, HUNGARY, MOLDOVA, SLOVAKIA, TRANSIT, UKRAINE
On October 15, 2026, the Ukrainian Energy Exchange (UEEX) held its first exchange auction for the sale of domestically produced natural gas for export, the exchange reported on its website.
“Ukrainian gas producers offered four lots totaling 135,706 MWh of natural gas, with delivery dates (gas days) ranging from October 26 to December 31, 2026,” the statement said.
As a result of the auction, 100% of the offered volume of natural gas was sold at a weighted average price of 69.01 EUR/MWh, excluding VAT.
Under the established mechanism, from March 1 to November 30, gas producers may sell up to 15% of the natural gas volume they delivered at entry points to Ukraine’s gas transmission system during the previous month for export purposes on a monthly basis.
Only non-resident companies may act as buyers at these specialized trading sessions.
As previously reported, in order to preserve domestic gas production and prevent its decline due to excess reserves, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a decision on the temporary, controlled export of Ukrainian gas during the period from March 1 to November 30.
Under the decision, private gas production companies were granted the right to export up to 15% of their own monthly production. Proceeds from exports will be used to protect gas production enterprises from Russian attacks and to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
As explained by the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, given the current gas balance projections for 2026–2027, the implementation of this decision will not affect the ability to meet domestic market demand during the fall and winter months.
Currently, Ukraine’s underground storage facilities hold nearly 15.8 billion cubic meters of gas, which is 2.6 billion cubic meters above the minimum level and 1.2 billion cubic meters above the target forecast for natural gas.
Exports will take place from March 1 to November 30 of each calendar year. Natural gas exports will not take place from December 1 through February 28.
The decision also provides for mechanisms to promptly suspend exports in the event of a threat of a natural gas shortage or a crisis situation in the domestic market.
