High profitability of soybean cultivation explains the significant sowing increase of this crop in Ukraine. The most favorable for the cultivation of soybean are the central regions of the country, which are located in the forest-steppe zone: Vinnitsa, Kiev, Poltava, Cherkassy, Khmelnitsky and Kirovograd regions. Soybean requires a warm and humid climate, and it is sensitive to drought.

Source: USDA report


According to the Ukrainian Association of producers and processors of soy, Ukraine will preserve the growth rate of soybean production in the coming years. Gradual increase in soybean production is forecast from 2016 to 2020, by 1.2 times, from 4.28 million tons to 5.34 million tons. Analysts expect an increase in the volume of soybean processing by 1.4 times during this period, from 1.3 million to 1.5 million tons. Level of soybean oil production will also increase: an increase by 2.1 times, from 176 thousand to 370 thousand tons is expected by 2020. Supply of soybean meal will increase by 1.5 times, from 750 thousand to 1.13 million tons.

In 2015/16 marketing year internal processing of soybean reached the level of 1.300 thousand tons, which is another record of Ukraine. At the same time, only about 30% of soybean produced is processed domestically, with twice as much exported for further processing in importing countries.

Similar situation was observed in the sunflower market of the country in the second half of 1990s, when the bulk of oilseed was exported.




Source: State Statistics Service of Ukraine, APK-Inform