Ukraine’s corn seeds exports to the EU increased to $121 millions in 2023 from $22million in 2021. However, European farmers are concerned about increased competition.
Reuters reports that Ukraine’s corn seed exports have seen a significant increase in European markets following Russia‘s invasion. This is a rare positive development, given the war-ravaged agricultural sector of the country.
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 reduced Ukrainian seed demand. Ukraine’s corn planting areas dropped by a quarter. Some firms that had previously supplied Ukrainian corn to the Russian market were also cut off.
According to the Seed Association of Ukraine (SAU), the country’s total exports of seeds reached $121 million in 2018. This is a dramatic rise from the $22 million of 2021. The French corn growers group AGPM estimates Ukraine’s share of the EU corn seed market grew from zero to about 10% since 2021.
Seeds are a smaller part of Ukraine’s agricultural trade compared to grains, but they offer a higher profit for farmers.
Siuzana Hryhorenko of the Seed Association of Ukraine told Reuters that EU shipments were what allowed seed producers to survive in 2022-23.
The trade shift has caused tensions among European farmers. CEPM (European Corn Growers Association) is seeking to limit corn seeds imports, which they call “extremely unstable for our market,” says Arthur Boy, their advisor on economic affairs. Reuters reports that the impact of corn seed imports is most noticeable in France.
Vitaliy Koval, Ukrainian Agriculture Minister, told Reuters the country’s main goal is to meet more of its domestic demand than to focus solely on exports. Ukraine is still heavily dependent on oilseed imports, with $346.5 millions in imports between January and September.
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