Despite war, Ukrainian agribusiness has advantages that ensure its stability – Agrohub study
Despite war risks, Ukraine has a number of strategic advantages that ensure its competitiveness in the global agricultural market, in particular, fertile soils and large areas of arable land, a favorable climate, stable yields, lower costs for land lease and labor, as well as potential accession to the European Union, according to the results of the Agrohub study.
The company clarified that during 2021-2023 it conducted, in partnership with Syngenta, a global study on agricultural production efficiency, comparing key indicators of resources, costs, yields, and profitability across five leading agricultural exporting countries: Ukraine, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and Australia over the 2021-2023 seasons. The research covered 24 agricultural companies with a total cultivated area of more than 3.5 million hectares across 26 agro-climatic regions.
"The data show that producers in different countries face similar challenges, though under different conditions. Among the key issues are logistics, a shortage of skilled labor, and climate change," the analysts noted.
They noted that most of the study participants have fertile soils and favorable climates, yet changes in temperature, as well as the amount and distribution of precipitation, are already having a noticeable impact on yields. Ukraine shows some of the highest yield indicators among the countries studied—6 tonnes/ha of wheat, 9.1 tonnes/ha of corn, 2.9 tonnes/ha of sunflower, and 3.6 tonnes/ha of rapeseed. These yields exceed those in Argentina (wheat — 3.5 tonnes/ha, corn — 6.9 tonnes/ha, sunflower — 2.1 tonnes/ha), Brazil (corn — 6.2 tonnes/ha), Canada (wheat — 2.8 tonnes/ha, rapeseed — 1.8 tonnes/ha), and Australia (wheat — 3.3 tonnes/ha, rapeseed — 2 tonnes/ha).
The cost structure among most participants is similar: a significant share goes to land, fertilizers, and field operations. At the same time, Ukraine’s cost levels across most categories are comparable to those of other countries. For example, in 2023 production costs for wheat amounted to $1,062 per hectare, and for corn — $1,285 per hectare, while in Argentina those figures were $890 per hectare and $1,114 per hectare, respectively.
According to the experts, the three-year averages (2021-2023) showed significant volatility in production costs for key crops—wheat, corn, soybeans, sunflower, and rapeseed—among study participants from Ukraine, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and Australia. In most cases, costs ranged from $700 to $1,100 per hectare depending on the crop, country, and agronomic model. At the same time, higher spending does not always lead to higher yields.
An analysis of the EBITA indicator ($1/ha) for winter wheat shows that optimizing the balance between cost per hectare and yield per hectare makes it possible to achieve a comparable EBITA of around $100 per hectare, even when the cost per ton ranges between $164 and $321 per ton.
Ukraine’s average efficiency indicators ($1/ha) for wheat production are on par with competitors in Canada and Australia, while in corn production Ukraine demonstrates some of the strongest results due to its high yields.
The analysts highlighted that Ukraine has favorable land lease conditions. In particular, the average lease term is around 10 years, which provides stability and enables long-term planning. For comparison, in Argentina leases are typically short-term, averaging just one year.
At the same time, land lease costs in Ukraine remain lower than in most developed agricultural countries, which makes entering the farming business more accessible. For example, the average lease rate in Ukraine is $155 per hectare, while in Argentina it reaches $327 per hectare and in Australia $220 per hectare. On the other hand, the land lease market in Ukraine is becoming saturated—available plots are increasingly scarce due to the active development of the agricultural sector even during wartime.
