The absolute leader of the Ukrainian agro-industrial sector in terms of profitability is sunflowe

In 2024, sunflower became the absolute leader in profitability in Ukraine, with 106% and a net profit of almost 40 thousand UAH per hectare. The second place in profitability is held by rapeseed, the third by corn, and soybeans and winter wheat share the fourth position.

As noted by the publication Kurkul, due to high grain prices, sunflower, winter rapeseed, and corn are in the top three most profitable crops to grow. After a record 2.6 million hectares planted with soybeans last year, the area planted is forecasted to decrease to 1.8 million hectares in 2025 in favor of sunflower and corn. These crops will also be grown in areas where winter crops were under-sown. Current forecasts for sowing areas in 2025 look like this: sunflower - 5.5 million hectares, corn - 4.4 million hectares, soybeans - will decrease from 2.6 million to 1.8 million hectares, and rapeseed could increase to 1.2 million hectares.

At the beginning of last year, it was noted that logistical difficulties in the agro-industrial sector resulted in a situation where grain harvested in 2022 had to be sold throughout 2023, whereas in peacetime, the final sale of the previous year's harvest occurred at most by May. In particular, the EBITDA index for the 2022 season for major crops was $47 per hectare in December 2023, after updating prices and storage costs. In contrast, the projected EBITDA values in February 2023 were $206, when agrarians had optimistic hopes for the stable operation of the grain corridor.

In October of last year, it was reported that the actual EBITDA index for major crops in 2023 was $129 per hectare. The highest growth in EBITDA compared to the forecasts occurred for corn - the index was $38.

According to the results of 2024, oilseed crops became the most profitable. In particular, the profitability index for rapeseed is approaching 60%, for soybeans - up to 40%, and for sunflower - up to 30%. According to the National Scientific Center "Institute of Agrarian Economics", in 2024, the profitability of wheat increased to 17%, while barley reached 25%. Meanwhile, the profitability of corn cultivation halved to 11%. The increase in profitability is primarily due to a significant rise in prices for agricultural raw materials in 2024. Moreover, the achieved yield level allowed for stabilizing costs per unit of production, which ultimately did not lead to an increase in the production cost of the mentioned crops. At the same time, a possible decline in the profitability of crop production is forecasted for the next two to three years, which will force farmers to reduce operational costs and seek unconventional ways to improve production efficiency. Overall, according to scientists' projections, in 2025, agrarians will continue to focus on oilseed crops, as they remain more profitable compared to grain crops.