Ukraine's Grain Harvest Struggles Amid Export Restrictions and Low Prices

This year's early grain harvest in Ukraine is expected to be virtually the same as last year's, but farmers are facing significant challenges due to export restrictions and low prices.

Ukrainian exports entered their second half of August at one of the lowest rates in recent years, with total agricultural exports in August estimated at 1.33 million metric tons, a 54% decrease from July and 68% lower than the average August export volume for 2022-2025.

Farmers are struggling to decide what to do with their harvest, with some opting to store it due to low prices and lack of storage facilities. Oleksandr Chubuk, head of the 'Chaika-2' family farm in Kyiv region, notes that they will have to sell part of their crop at a loss, saying 'I don't want to deliberately lose money, that's when you know, while selling for 5,000 UAH, that the cost of production for the grain is 6,200.'

Bogdan Kostetsky, co-owner and chief operating officer of Barva Invest, advises farmers to consider storing their wheat due to extremely low purchase prices. He also recommends exploring working capital loans at 10% in hryvnia from banks that have received additional reserves from the NBU.