On Thursday, October 19, at 1 P.M., the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference entitled "Ukrainian farmers on the verge of bankruptcy".

Participants: Andrii Dykun, Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council, Maria Didukh, Director of the Ukrainian Agrarian Forum, Oleh Khomenko, General Director of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club, Dmytro Kokhan, Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council, Ruslan Holub, General Director of the “TAK” Group of Companies.

According to industry experts, the total losses for the national agricultural sector by the end of 2023 will amount to more than $3 billion, which will mean a wave of bankruptcies of agricultural enterprises, a reduction in crop areas, loss of jobs and local taxes, as well as a reduction in aid to the Armed Forces and threaten national food security.

Every month it becomes more difficult for farmers. Logistics routes are too expensive today. Transportation of agricultural products takes more than 50% of its value. The domestic price of grain is lower than the cost of production. Even the price of sunflower is unprofitable, although many farmers this year relied on sowing oilseeds in the hope of making a little profit.

Working capital is being returned longer than it was before the full-scale invasion, due to difficulties in exporting the products. The biggest difficulties with financing are faced by those farmers who are in the zone of hostilities. In addition to direct problems related to the war, banks refuse to provide loans to farmers in these areas. And suppliers won't deliver seeds and fertilizers even for money.

The agricultural sector is perhaps the only industry that has continued to operate during the war and support the national economy, creating demand in related industries and providing jobs in rural areas. Without stable export routes and financing, Ukraine will face a wave of farm closures and bankruptcies of agricultural producers, which are the backbone of the country's economy during the war.

During the press conference, farmers will share their vision of the situation and address the Government with proposals to overcome the crisis, which threatens the economy by reducing foreign exchange earnings and national food security.

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