As the First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Taras Vysotskyi, told on the air of the national marathon “Yedyny Novyny”, there are about 40,000 farms in Ukraine. It is small and medium-sized producers who produce more than 80% of agricultural products, of which up to 30% is used for the domestic market and up to 70% is exported. This is reported by Ministry of Agricultural Policy.
This year, in connection with the blocking of the ports, the temporary remains of grain from the previous harvest currently reach 18 million tons. “At the same time, the entire domestic annual consumption is 17 million 900 thousand tons. That is, even last year’s harvest is enough for us, and we expect to harvest about 65 million tons of grain and oil crops this year. Therefore, there is no threat to domestic food security,” explained the First Deputy Minister.
As Taras Vysotsky emphasized, there should be a reasonable balance regarding prices on the domestic market. “Farmers must maintain a price that will cover the cost of production, and this will allow them to continue to cover field work and cultivation – this will be a guarantee for food security in the following periods. As a result, there will be enough food for processing, for domestic production, for animal husbandry. If the cost of production is not covered, then farmers simply will not sow,” he said.
Now, in connection with the signing of the grain initiative on July 22 and the start of exports through the Black Sea ports, it is expected that the balances will balance out and the price within Ukraine will become more or less balanced, added Taras Vysotskyi, assuring that the cost grain production in Ukraine will not be as high as the international one.