As of November 10, 2026, Ukrainian farmers had harvested 3.30 million tonnes of soybeans, which is 23.4% less compared with the figure recorded on November 7 of last year, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine reported. According to the ministry, soybeans have been harvested from an area of 1.52 million hectares, representing 94.4% of the forecast area. The average crop yield stands at 21.8 centners per hectare, compared with 23.5 centners per hectare a year earlier.
In 2025, as of the comparable date, farmers had harvested 4.31 million tonnes of soybeans from an area of 1.83 million hectares. Thus, this year’s gross harvest is approximately 1.01 million tonnes lower.
The reduction in harvested volumes is associated with both a 17.1% decrease in the harvested area and a 7.6% decline in the average yield.
It was the reduction in area that became the main factor behind the negative trend in the gross harvest.
Soybeans are an important raw material for the production of vegetable oil, meal, and compound feed. A significant portion of the output is used in livestock farming and the food industry and is also supplied to foreign markets.
The decrease in the gross harvest may intensify competition between processing enterprises and exporters for available raw materials. However, the impact on domestic prices will also depend on carryover stocks from the previous harvest, international quotations, and demand for processed products.
Among Ukraine’s three main oilseed crops, soybeans are showing the opposite trend compared with sunflower seeds and rapeseed, whose gross harvests increased over the same period.
Soybean harvesting in Ukraine is still ongoing but has already been completed on more than 94% of the forecast area.
Original source: Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, November 10, 2026.
As of November 3, 2026, Ukrainian farmers had harvested 10.34 million metric tons of sunflowers, which is 23.5% higher than the figure at the end of October 2025, while the gross soybean harvest fell by 18% to 3.23 million metric tons, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.
According to the ministry, sunflowers were harvested from an area of 4.65 million hectares, or 88.7% of the projected area. The average yield for the crop was 22.2 centners per hectare, compared to 18.8 centners per hectare last year.
Thus, sunflower yields increased by approximately 18%, which was the main factor behind the growth in the crop’s gross harvest.
At the same time, the area harvested for sunflowers increased by 4.6%, or approximately 206,000 hectares.
Meanwhile, soybean production showed a negative trend. As of November 3, farmers had harvested 3.23 million metric tons from an area of 1.49 million hectares, or 92.9% of the projected area.
Compared to preliminary data as of October 31, 2025, the gross soybean harvest decreased by 18%. The harvested area decreased by 11.4%, and the average yield fell from 23.4 to 21.6 ts/ha, or by 7.7%.
Rapeseed, the harvest of which has already been completed in Ukraine, showed positive trends.
The total harvest of winter and spring rapeseed amounted to 3.90 million metric tons from an area of 1.33 million hectares. This is 17.4% higher than the 2025 figure.
The average rapeseed yield increased from 26.0 to 29.3 centners per hectare, or by 12.7%.
Overall, the harvest of Ukraine’s three main oilseed crops—sunflower, rapeseed, and soybeans—reached 17.47 million metric tons.
Compared to preliminary figures as of October 31, 2025, when 15.63 million metric tons of oilseeds had been harvested, the current result is approximately 11.8% higher. At the same time, these figures reflect different calendar dates and stages of the harvest campaign.
Oilseeds are an important component of Ukraine’s agricultural exports and serve as a raw material base for oil extraction plants, feed producers, and biofuel manufacturers.
The increase in sunflower and rapeseed yields creates additional opportunities to utilize processing capacities, while the decline in soybean production may affect the volume of raw materials available for domestic processing and export.
Sources: Ministry of Agrarian Policy, operational statistics as of November 3, 2026; Ministry of Economy, harvest statistics as of October 31, 2025.
The Ministry of Economy and Environment has begun developing Ukraine’s industrial strategy through 2030 and plans to present a draft for discussion with the professional community over the course of three months, Deputy Minister Vitaliy Kindrativ said.
According to him, the Federation of Employers of Ukraine (FEU), the Institute of Economic Modeling, relevant industry associations, and experts are involved in drafting the document.
“Our priority today is, on the one hand, to support the domestic manufacturing industry and, on the other, to help it enter foreign markets,” the deputy minister emphasized during the 12th Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF) on the topic “People. Business. Economy. What’s Next?” on Monday in Kyiv, according to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent.
Kindratov noted that the strategy will focus on sectors with high added value and the potential to enter foreign markets, particularly in machine building, the manufacturing industry, and agricultural processing.
He emphasized that once work on the document is completed, it will be discussed with relevant business associations, whose position will form the basis for its final approval by the government. Furthermore, in his view, a clear definition of priority sectors and government support programs will serve as an important signal for attracting foreign investment and capital into the Ukrainian economy.
For his part, Ruslan Illichev, CEO of the Federation of Ukrainian Industries (FUI), emphasized that the document must be based on the real needs of domestic businesses.
“This strategy must be based, first and foremost, on the perspectives of the industries operating in Ukraine. We need to take our most competitive existing industries and ask what they need to scale up,” the FRU head stressed.
Ilychev added that key components of the document should also include ensuring maximum localization in large government and infrastructure projects and coordinating overall industrial policy with European partners to integrate Ukraine into EU markets.
The cost of grapes in Ukraine in 2026 remained roughly at the same level as last season, despite a significant increase in the cost of fertilizers, plant protection products, fuel, and logistics, which is leading to a decline in the profitability of grape-growing operations.
Tetyana Shmaglyuchenko, head of the company “VIN’S,” discussed this in an interview with the agricultural publication SEEDS.
According to her, prices for most grape varieties have essentially remained at last year’s levels. Only a few large rosé varieties have become slightly more expensive. At the same time, production costs have increased significantly.
Producers cite rising costs of mineral fertilizers, vine protection products, and fuel as the main factors. Logistics have added to the burden, especially for farms in Bessarabia, where transportation costs have risen due to infrastructure damage and restrictions on traditional routes.
The situation is further complicated by a decline in the harvest. According to producers’ estimates, the gross grape harvest at some farms this season could be 20–30% lower than last year. Winter frosts and a cold spring have negatively affected yields.
The war is also directly affecting vineyards in southern Ukraine. Some vineyards have sustained damage as a result of hostilities, falling drone debris, and other war-related factors.
The combination of virtually unchanged selling prices, rising production costs, and reduced harvests is forcing producers to seek additional sources of income.
One such avenue is the further processing of grapes. Farms are investing in the production of fruit leather, raisins, and other products with higher added value, and are using infrared dryers and vacuum equipment to process fruit puree.
Another trend is cooperation with producers of other fruits. This allows for the production of combined products using local peaches, plums, and other raw materials.
Producers are also investing in energy self-sufficiency. In particular, solar power plants are used to power wells and irrigation systems, which helps to partially reduce dependence on external energy supplies.
At the same time, some farms are considering a shift from selling fresh grapes to winemaking. With grant support from the FAO, technical grape varieties are being planted that can later be used for wine production.
Thus, for Ukrainian viticulture in 2026, the key challenge will be not so much a lack of demand for products as the gap between the selling price and the cost of production. Under these conditions, processing allows farms to derive greater added value from their own raw materials while simultaneously maintaining production capacity and preserving employment for workers after the harvest season ends.
Viticulture remains one of the most labor-intensive sectors of horticulture in Ukraine. Most commercial grape production is concentrated in the southern regions of the country and in Zakarpattia, and a significant portion of the industry has been directly affected by the full-scale war.
Source: SEEDS.
Kuyalnik Salt Works LLC plans to invest over $20 million in a project to extract excess salt from the Kuyalnik Estuary and process it into table salt, according to the publication SEEDS.
The Odesa Regional Military Administration and the company signed a memorandum of cooperation on the implementation of investment and environmental projects in the Kuyalnik Estuary area. The Odesa Regional Military Administration officially confirmed the investor’s intention to invest over $20 million in the project.
According to SEEDS, Kuyalnik Salt Works LLC was established in 2026. The company plans to extract excess salt from the estuary and process it into food products. The estimated production capacity is approximately 300,000 metric tons of salt per year.
This volume accounts for about three-quarters of Ukraine’s salt imports in 2025. According to the State Customs Service, last year Ukraine imported about 415,000 metric tons of salt worth $49.6 million.
Thus, the implementation of this project could significantly reduce Ukraine’s dependence on imported table salt, and once production reaches full capacity, it could lay the groundwork for resuming salt exports.
The need to develop new salt sources increased sharply after the Artemsil plant in Soledar shut down in 2022. Prior to the full-scale invasion, Ukraine was a major producer and exporter of salt; however, after losing access to its key production facilities, it became heavily dependent on supplies from abroad.
The project on the Kuyalnik Estuary also has an environmental component. According to the Odesa Regional State Administration, the memorandum provides for the development of environmental protection infrastructure, the implementation of modern environmental solutions, and the execution of “green” projects. The issue of utilizing the estuary’s salt resources has been under consideration for over a year, with the participation of the Cabinet of Ministers, scientists, and relevant experts.
Before commencing industrial extraction, the company must still complete the procedures required by law, including an environmental impact assessment and obtaining the necessary permits for the use of natural resources. The Kuyalnik Estuary has special environmental protection and resort status.
Original source of the article: SEEDS – “Investor Plans to Invest Over $20 Million in Processing Salt from the Kuyalnik Estuary for Food Use”.
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INVESTMENT, Kuyalnik Estuary, ODESA REGION, PROCESSING, SALT
In the 2025–26 marketing year, rapeseed processing in Ukraine increased 2.7-fold, and rapeseed oil exports increased 2.5-fold compared to the previous marketing year. In total, 42% of the rapeseed harvest was processed domestically (last year this figure was 15%), which is an all-time record since the crop began to be grown in Ukraine. Foreign exchange earnings from rapeseed oil exports more than tripled, reaching $588 million.
This was reported by Dmytro Kysilevsky, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development, citing data from the “Ukroliyaprom” association. He also noted that the share of domestic processing of the soybean harvest in the 2025–26 marketing year rose from 39% to 54.2% (also a historic record for processing). Despite a decline in the soybean harvest from 6.6 million metric tons to 4.8 million metric tons, foreign exchange earnings from exports of soybean oil and meal rose by 12.3%, to $1.02 billion.
Compared to the previous marketing year, the harvested areas for these crops changed insignificantly: rapeseed +15.7%, soybeans -3.9%. In total, the area planted with these crops increased from 3.25 million hectares to 3.37 million hectares.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, additional revenue to the state budget from export duties on soybeans and rapeseed amounted to 2.174 billion UAH for the marketing year, i.e., for the period from September 2025 to August 2026.
“These figures show that export duties on soybeans and rapeseed have been effective: the share of processing has increased—Ukrainian plants have seen higher utilization rates; the area under cultivation has expanded—farmers consider these crops profitable to grow; and the budget has received additional revenue from duties as well as from plant operations. Step by step, Ukraine is moving away from low-value commodity exports, increasing processing, foreign exchange earnings, and tax revenues, and developing new plants that offer decent wages for Ukrainians. “When Ukraine exports processed products rather than soybeans and rapeseed, the growth in foreign exchange revenue per metric ton of exports ranges from 30% to 50%,” noted Dmytro Kysilevsky.
On July 16, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the introduction of a 10% export duty on soybeans and rapeseed. The duties took effect on September 4, 2025.
