Doing business
According to a new analytical review of the land market prepared by the KSE Agrarian Center and the USAID Agricultural Development Program, 28,400 transactions involving 62,700 hectares of agricultural land were concluded in July-September this year, up 3% quarter-on-quarter, and up 29% in terms of the number of transactions and 39% in terms of the area of land in circulation compared to the same period last year.
Since the beginning of the year, legal entities have significantly increased their activity in the agricultural land market. In the second quarter of 2024, they acquired a total of 13 thou hectares of land, compared to 8.5 thou hectares in the first quarter, and in the third quarter this figure increased to 15.9 thou hectares.
The record month was September 2024, during which legal entities acquired 6300 hectares of agricultural land, or 27.9% of all agricultural land sales transactions concluded during this period.
In addition, the weighted average price per hectare of agricultural land increased significantly in the third quarter of 2024 – up to UAH 45,400 per 1 ha for all sold land and up to UAH 46,800 per 1 ha for commercial land.
While the weighted average price in December 2023 was UAH 1,001 per hectare, in September 2024 it reached UAH 1,095 per hectare, i.e. 9.4% higher in dollar terms.
Thus, in the first nine months of 2024, the capitalization of the agricultural land market increased by UAH 332 billion, or $3.9 billion.