Ukrainian agricultural producers do not have access to at least 30% of land (about 140 thousand hectares) that was under organic production before the war. This was stated by the first deputy Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine Taras Vysotsky at an international exhibition of organic products in Germany.

He stressed that Ukraine for many years has been a reliable supplier of organic products and has maintained its position during the pandemic COVID-19, when the supply chain was broken. And in recent years, Ukraine has consistently ranked among the TOP 5 largest suppliers of organic products in the EU. In particular, in 2020, Ukraine ranked 4th in the world out of 123 countries in terms of imports of organic products to the EU with a percentage of 7.8% of the total volume of organic products imported into the Commonwealth.

“Over the past five years, the area of land under organic production in Ukraine has increased almost 1.5 times (from 289 thousand hectares in 2017 to 422 thousand hectares in 2021). Our country is the largest exporter to the EU of organic grain and oilseed products, soybeans, honey, vegetables and fruits are also exported together with the products of their processing”, – said Taras Vysotsky.

He pointed out that the activity with the rules of organic production is currently carried out by 528 operators.

“Until 2030. Ukraine has planned to increase the export of organic products to $1 billion, and we will actively move towards this plan by improving national legislation on organic production,” Taras Vysotsky said.

Source: www.agroportal.ua