Ukraine may need to import flour, but food stability will remain, – Kozachenko
29 August 20:43
Ukraine may face a shortage of its own flour, but there is no need to fear a famine. Leonid Kozachenko, head of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation, said this in an interview with the YouTube channel "Komersant Ukrainian".
“Unfortunately, we do not have enough wheat, food wheat. This is the third, especially the second and first grade, which is used for high-quality flour. And I do not even rule out the possibility of importing flour, which we cannot get enough of to fully meet the needs of the domestic market.
And this is, of course, due to the loss of sown areas. But, most importantly, it is due to climate change that occurred this year,” he said.
At the same time, there will be enough feed wheat to meet domestic needs and for export, Mr. Kozachenko said.
He also emphasized that Ukraine is not facing a food crisis.
“We have no reason to be afraid of food shortages. Even under such conditions, we are self-sufficient and produce much more products than the domestic market consumes. We are talking about both crop and livestock production,” he emphasized.
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As a reminder, Ukraine is traditionally one of the five largest grain exporters in the world, but the agricultural sector has suffered serious losses due to the full-scale war. Russian shelling systematically destroys grain elevators, warehouses, and infrastructure for storing and transshipment. In particular, in 2023-2024 alone, dozens of grain storage facilities in the southern and eastern regions were damaged.
Despite this, Ukraine continues to supply the domestic market with bread and flour in full. In 2024, the grain harvest amounted to over 55 million tons, which allowed the company to maintain export supplies and avoid a shortage in the country. According to agrarian associations, Ukraine’s domestic grain needs are about 18 million tons per year, so even if limited flour imports are needed, there is no threat to food security.
The government has also been maintaining a mechanism of grain reserves for several years now, which allows it to respond quickly to possible supply disruptions in the event of new Russian attacks or logistical problems.
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