The 2027 planting season is at risk: more than half of the exports cannot be shipped
13 August 14:24
Due to ongoing shelling and the closure of three deep-water ports in the Greater Odesa area, Ukraine’s agricultural sector is facing threats to its ability to export the harvest and carry out the 2027 planting campaign.
This issue was discussed during a meeting between the leadership of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and representatives from the EU, Norway, the World Bank, and the FAO, according to "Komersant Ukrainian", citing the ministry’s press service.
“Without the ability to sell their harvested grain, farmers lose the liquidity needed to cover operating expenses—such as paying salaries, settling lease payments for farmland shares, and purchasing fuel and fertilizers. This jeopardizes the 2027 planting season, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. And this directly threatens global food security,” said Minister of Agrarian Policy Taras Vysotsky.
According to him, to avert a collapse and prevent a chaotic redirection of grain flows to the European Union’s internal market, Ukraine has appealed to the EU for a grant of €220 million, which will not be provided directly to farmers, but will be used to subsidize interest rates and partially cover banking risks within the framework of preferential lending, in particular through the expansion of the “5-7-9%” program.
“We clearly emphasize: Ukraine does not seek to redirect these volumes to the EU market. We are requesting targeted liquidity support. The grant should serve as financial leverage to offset interest costs and help attract €4 billion in bank loans to the agricultural sector (at an interest rate not exceeding 10% per annum). This will allow farmers to avoid selling their harvest at rock-bottom prices and ensure the 2027 planting season,” the minister emphasized.
According to the ministry, each euro of EU grant aid will thus help attract more than €18 in preferential bank loans.
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According to the statement, the meeting participants agreed to immediately work on launching the proposed mechanism through the Ukraine Facility and to involve EU guarantee institutions in the coming weeks—before the autumn peak in warehouse capacity utilization.
As previously reported, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, more than half of the planned export harvest may remain in Ukraine. In the 2026/27 marketing year, Ukraine is expected to export approximately 64.4 million metric tons of agricultural products, or an average of 5.4 million metric tons per month. However, in August, the monthly export volume will amount to approximately 1.6 million metric tons. Going forward, alternative routes will gradually resume operations, but their throughput capacity may increase to a maximum of 2.9 million metric tons per month. As a result, total exports may amount to only about 29.6 million metric tons. As early as November, the shortage of storage capacity could reach 11 million metric tons, and more than €10.8 billion will be tied up in unsold inventory.
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