Increasing the work of the humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea will help Ukrainian farmers to withstand competitive prices on world markets. This issue was stated by Denys Marchuk, the UAC Deputy Chairman.

According to him, land routes for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products are much more expensive than sea routes, which, in turn, reduces export prices for domestic producers.

"Prices for agricultural products in the country are much lower than the world ones. Expensive logistics contributes to this negative trend. Land routes are much more expensive than exports by sea. Exports from the ports were blocked for some time, and when it worked, it did not reach the required volumes. During almost two years of full-scale invasion, farmers are often forced to sell their crops at or below cost. This year, we have harvested good yield as for a time of war, and therefore have a good potential for export. Instead, additional volumes in warehouses put even more pressure on the cost of export prices for agricultural products in the country," said Denys Marchuk.

  According to him, Ukraine needs to export about 5 million tons of agricultural products every month. In order to somehow equalize prices, it is necessary to increase exports through the humanitarian corridor from the ports of Odesa to 2-2.5 million tons.

"This season, low export prices for agricultural products have caused losses to our farmers of more than $3.5 billion. In general, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, direct and indirect losses for Ukrainian farmers have amounted to more than $40 billion. These are really big losses, and if we do not find financial support, we will record massive bankruptcies. This will also lead to a reduction in the area under crops that are currently unprofitable. This is primarily the grain group," emphasized Denys Marchuk.

To support the agricultural sector at the state level, it is necessary to expand the financial instruments that have already proven themselves, says Denys Marchuk.

"This is a continuation of the lending system under the 5-7-9 program, but not on terms with a limit of UAH 90 million per person. It will be raised up to UAH 150 million. This is important because since the full-scale invasion, the situation of Ukrainian farmers has only worsened and all limits have been exhausted. It is also necessary to fix the annual interest rate under this program at no higher than 5%. There is also another opportunity for farmers to raise funds for the sowing season - to provide an opportunity to raise agricultural receipts secured by the right to lease land. To do this, it is necessary to adopt the draft law No. 9352," added Denys Marchuk.

According to the Deputy Chairman of the UAC, we should also pay to the land market, where legal entities will be able to buy 10,000 hectares of land from January 1, 2024.

"The lack of funds of farmers puts them on an unequal condition with agricultural holdings in terms of the ability to purchase land. Instead, the reform was aimed at all Ukrainians, but was not designed for a full-scale invasion and its consequences. Therefore, we propose to reduce the limit on land acquisition for legal entities to 100 hectares," said Denys Marchuk.