Ukraine has the largest arable land in the EU and the highest agricultural share of its own GDP. Its black soil is one of the most fertile soils in the world. Agricultural production has been growing steadily since the 2000s. The most important products include maize, wheat, potatoes, sunflower seeds and oil.
Despite the high added value in the agricultural sector, Ukraine faces many challenges, which are exacerbated by the ongoing Russian war of aggression: Mined farmland and destruction of infrastructure, difficulties in exporting grain, reduced production capacities and a lack of human capital. And although the Association Agreement/DCFTA has laid the foundations for access to EU markets, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia could make Ukraine's European integration more difficult in the long term by banning imports of Ukrainian agricultural products due to competitive risks.
The Ukraine Perspectives Roundtable brought together German and Ukrainian experts to discuss key issues surrounding the preparation of the Ukrainian agricultural sector for EU integration and the challenges posed by Russia's full-scale war of aggression. Topics discussed included appropriate transition periods for harmonisation with EU standards, the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), potential difficulties but also opportunities related to food security, the environment, sustainability and advances in digital markets and agricultural technology.
The event marks the official start of the "Ukraine Perspectives" project, which will generate new insights into the reconstruction process and the potential of Ukraine's accession to the EU through policy-relevant analyses. In addition, Ukrainian voices and regional expertise will be strengthened in the German political debate.
Ukraine Perspectives is implemented together with the Ukrainian partner organisation Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER, Kyiv) and is funded by the planning staff of the German Federal Foreign Office.
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