Sugar production in Ukraine in the 2025-2026 marketing year has already reached 1.615 million tons, but the sugar season is not over yet, said Yana Kavushevska, head of the board of the National Association of Sugar Producers Ukrtsukor, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“According to our expectations, sugar production in 2025-2026 MY will exceed 1.7 million tons. As of January 10, the factories that are members of the association have produced 1.615 million tons,” she said.
Kavushevska specified that in 2025, sugar beets were grown on 199,000 hectares in Ukraine, with a yield of 58 tons/hectare, and 11.4 million tons were harvested. The 27 sugar factories that are members of Ukrtsukor and operated in the 2025/26 marketing year received 10.8 million tons for processing, but beet deliveries are still ongoing.
Kavushevska noted that the industry association had expected a smaller sugar beet harvest and a smaller volume of sugar produced, but good weather conditions helped farmers achieve higher yields than last year. She recalled that last year, 250,000 hectares were sown with sugar beets, the yield was 55 tons/hectare, and 29 sugar factories produced 1.812 million tons of sugar.
Ukrtsukor specified that domestic sugar consumption in Ukraine before the full-scale war, even after the loss of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, amounted to 1.2-1.3 million tons, and is currently 300-400 thousand tons less. Therefore, it is desirable for Ukraine to export at least 700,000 tons in the current marketing year.
According to Kavushevska, the geography of Ukrainian sugar exports in 2026 is unlikely to change—it will be countries with convenient logistics, the cost of which allows Ukraine to be competitive compared to other global producers.
“In 2025, Ukraine exported 464,000 tons of sugar, 27% of which went to the European Union, and the rest was supplied to the world market (…) to countries in the Middle East and the Balkans. The undisputed leader in the purchase of Ukrainian sugar in 2025 is Lebanon (71,000 tons), while a year earlier it was Turkey with a similar volume. In second place is a European Union country – Bulgaria (66,000 tons), third is North Macedonia (39,000 tons), fourth is Libya (34,000 tons), and fifth is shared by Syria and Turkey (over 27,000 tons each),” said the chair of the board of Ukrtsukor.
According to Interfax-Ukraine, an informed source in the market reported that in the 2025 season, 3,000 hectares of sugar beets remained unharvested in Ukrainian fields, mainly in the Vinnytsia and Khmelnytsky regions. Due to rain during the harvesting period, farmers did not risk bringing their equipment into the fields for fear that it would get stuck. According to experts, it is quite possible that these sugar beets will be able to overwinter in the fields under the snow and will likely be suitable for processing. Assuming maximum losses (13% yield) after the snow melts, sugar factories will hypothetically be able to produce approximately 22,600 tons of sugar.
As reported, in Ukraine in 2024/25 MY, sugar production amounted to 1.812 million tons, which is 6.2% more than in the current year.
In the first three months of the 2025-2026 marketing year (September-November), Ukraine exported 116,100 tons of sugar, of which about 95% was sent to the world market, according to the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine “Ukrtsukor.” According to the association, in September-November 2025, the following structure of Ukrainian sugar exports to the main buyer countries was formed:
Lebanon – 37% of the volume of supplies,
Syria – 18%,
North Macedonia – 8%,
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 7%,
United Arab Emirates – 7%.
Thus, the top five importers accounted for more than three-quarters of all sugar exports during the period. The remaining volumes were distributed among other countries in the Middle East, Africa, and selected European markets.
Ukrtsukor specified that as of the first ten days of November 2025, 26 sugar factories belonging to the association produced 880,000 tons of sugar, which is 100,000 tons, or 10.2%, less than on the same date in 2024.
Of the total exports in 2024/2025 MY, 17% went to EU countries and 83% to the global market, while in the previous season the ratio was 77% to the EU and 23% to other destinations.
According to industry estimates, the main buyers of Ukrainian sugar in 2024/2025 MY were the EU as a whole, Turkey, Libya, North Macedonia, Lebanon, and Somalia, with Bulgaria remaining the largest importer among EU countries.
As of the first ten days of November 2025, 26 sugar factories belonging to the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine produced 880,000 tons of sugar, which is 100,000 tons (10.2%) less than on the same date in 2924, Ukrtsukor reported on Telegram.
The industry association noted that the current sugar yield is 14.81% (last season — 14.09%). This is due, in particular, to the higher sugar content of beets upon acceptance — 17.39%, which is 0.62% higher than in 2024.
Among the regions, Vinnytsia region remains the leader in production, with six factories already producing 196,000 tons of sugar.
According to the results of the 2024-2025 marketing year (September 2024 – August 2025), Ukraine exported 158,000 tons of granulated beet pulp worth a total of $23.2 million, the National Association of Sugar Producers “Ukrtsukor” reported on Facebook.
The industry association noted that the largest importers of Ukrainian beet pulp were Germany with 22% of the total volume of its exports from Ukraine, Spain and Poland with 21% each, followed by Italy with 12% and the Netherlands with 9%.
According to the business association, the leaders in beet pulp exports were Radekhivsky Sugar, Almeida Group, and Ukrprominvest-Agro, which together exported 83% of the total volume.
“The production and export of granulated pulp is not only an effective use of a by-product of sugar production, which increases the profitability of the beet sugar industry as a whole, but also provides additional export revenue, which the country so badly needs today,” Ukrtsukor concluded.
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 area under sugar beet has increased by almost 20% to 250 thousand hectares during the war, which has become a good diversification option for farmers who have switched from growing grain to this crop, said Yana Kavushevska, acting chairman of the board of the National Association of Sugar Producers Ukrtsukor.
“During the war, the industry demonstrated resilience and became an island of salvation for some farmers who managed to switch from growing grain to sugar beet in time,” she said at Grain Ukraine in Kyiv.
According to Kavushevska, in 2020, 216 thou hectares were planted with sugar beet in Ukraine. However, for two years in a row, the country has been allocating 250 thou hectares for this crop, which indicates an increase of almost 20%. This is due to the areas planted by independent farmers and agricultural companies that have made a conscious choice in favor of sugar beet and saw it as a profit opportunity.
The acting chairman of the board of Ukrtsukor explained the success of the industry by the favorable situation on the world market, where sugar prices have been among the highest since 2006. In addition, it was easier for Ukrainian producers to export sugar than grain.
“There were logistical problems. Of course, sugar producers, like grain producers, are interested in keeping the ports of Greater Odesa open and working properly. But exports by land were also quite active,” she stated.
Another positive factor for the revitalization of the Ukrainian sugar industry, according to the representative of the industry association, is duty-free trade with the EU, which Ukrainian producers have actively used and increased exports.
Speaking about the imposition of restrictions on Ukrainian sugar by the EU, Kavushevska noted that Ukrainian producers have resumed exporting sugar not only to the EU, but also to the Black Sea and West Africa.
“As of May, Ukraine exported 65% of sugar to the European Union, and 35% went to countries where our sugar is also in demand. In fact, in May, Ukraine set a record for monthly sugar exports: within 30 days, we exported 108 thousand tons of sugar,” the representative of the association emphasized.
Ms. Kavushevska also noted that sugar prices are currently being corrected on the global market. She admitted that the financial results for Ukrainian producers may not be as good as before. However, for the third year in a row, sugar beet will remain among the top three most profitable crops for Ukrainian farmers, which is a good alternative to grain.
The head of Ukrtsukr also emphasized the importance of cooperation with specialized European sugar producer associations, pointed out the need to integrate Ukrainian products into the EU and reminded that the industry counts on the support of the state and its trade representatives who will negotiate the revision of autonomous trade measures and the association agreement.
