Ukraine will reduce soybean and rapeseed planting areas, but increase corn planting areas

The Ukrainian Association of Agricultural Companies (UCAB) announced this week that Ukraine will reduce the planting area for soybeans and rapeseed this year, but increase the planting area for corn.

Ukraine is a major producer and exporter of grains and oilseeds, but production has declined since the war.

Svitlana Lytvyn, head of UCAB's analysis department, stated that the global market is the main driving force behind changes in Ukraine's harvest structure.

In 2022 and 2023, due to favorable global conditions, soybeans will be almost the only profitable crop in Ukraine. That's why soybean planting area reached its maximum in 2024, "she said.

Lytvyn added that the situation has changed this year, with a significant drop in global soybean prices, resulting in a reduction in planting area.

In 2024, Ukraine's soybean production reached a historic high of over 6 million tons.

Lytvyn stated that the severe weather during the sowing period has reduced the planting area of winter rapeseed, and farmers may increase the planting area of corn in 2025. "With the further growth of corn trade, we expect the planting area of corn to increase. Now, due to the good operation of the Odessa (Black Sea) port, exports have become easier," she pointed out.

After the war in 2022, Ukrainian seaports were blocked, and it was not until 2023 that Ukraine could begin uninterrupted maritime traffic through its ports in the Odessa region.