Main points
- Ukraine completed the sugar beet sowing campaign with historically minimum areas, reducing them by 18% compared to last year.
- The main reasons for the decrease in area were unstable weather conditions and a difficult economic situation, which affected the profitability of growing the crop.
Why are there so few beets / Photo Pixabay
Ukrainian farmers have completed the sugar beet sowing campaign, but this year the area under the crop has shrunk to a historic low. The industry has faced weather challenges and a difficult economic situation.
Sugar beet sowing ended with a record-breaking harvest
Ukrainian agricultural producers have completed sowing sugar beets on an area of 162.1 thousand hectares. According to the Ukrtsukor association, this is 18% less than last year.
This result was the lowest in the entire period of Ukraine's independence. The reduction in areas indicates serious difficulties facing the sugar industry.
Despite the overall decline in crops, the largest areas under the crop traditionally remained in Vinnytsia region. This year, 31.2 thousand hectares were allocated for sugar beets there.
The weather significantly complicated the campaign
Yana Kavushevska, head of the Ukrtsukor association, called this year's sowing one of the most difficult in recent years. According to her, farmers had to work in unstable and unfavorable weather conditions.
The weather made us quite nervous: frosts, dust storms, about 5% of the area was over-seeded. But despite all these challenges, the sowing is complete,
– Kavushevska noted.
Due to bad weather, some fields had to be reseeded, which further increased producers' costs and complicated the organization of work.
The industry hopes for a good harvest and stable prices
The association emphasizes that the current record is not accidental. It is the result of a combination of domestic and global challenges that affect the profitability of crop cultivation.
Yana Kavushevska noted that the reduction in areas is a kind of reflection of the difficult conditions in which the Ukrainian sugar industry operates today.
Despite the pessimistic statistics, market participants remain cautiously optimistic. The industry hopes for more favorable weather throughout the season, a good harvest, and fair pricing conditions that will allow producers to compensate for the risks and costs incurred.
The EU is against sugar: Ukraine sharply reduces production and exports
Among other things, the volume of sugar beet production was also affected by the fact that the EU is restricting imports of Ukrainian sugar.
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Ukraine is reducing sugar production due to trade restrictions and problems with export logistics, with production expected to decline by 26.3% in 2025–2026.
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Sugar exports decreased by 14.2% in 2024–2025, the main sales markets are Africa and the Middle East, and a further decline to 505 thousand tons is expected.
Domestic consumption is also declining. While before the full-scale war, Ukrainians consumed about 1.1 million tons of sugar per year, in the 2025–2026 season this figure may decrease to 0.9 million tons. The main reason is the decrease in population and changes in the structure of demand.