Since the start of the full-scale war, 88 flour milling enterprises in Ukraine have resumed operations, including 22 launched in 2024 and 10 more in 2025, according to Rodion Rybchynskyi, head of the Union of Ukrainian Millers.
“As of the end of 2021, Ukraine had 678 industrial enterprises operating in the grain processing sector. Unfortunately, during the full-scale invasion, we lost 192 of them — some remained in temporarily occupied territories, others were completely destroyed or forced to suspend operations due to a lack of raw materials and logistical challenges,” he said at the Agro2Food exhibition in Kyiv on Wednesday.
According to Rybchynskyi, the recovery of the grain processing sector began in 2023, prompted by export difficulties in 2022.
“Many agricultural producers saw a solution in launching grain processing facilities. They invested their own funds, and the state began providing grants for reconstruction and capacity expansion,” he explained.
Since the start of the war, 66 grain processing enterprises have resumed operations, while 22 new ones were established in 2024 and about 10 more in 2025.
Of the new facilities, about 40% produce flour, 30% manufacture groats, and another 30% make pasta. Most are located in western and central Ukraine.
Rybchynskyi emphasized that these are newly built plants, not relocated ones, as processing enterprises depend on existing raw material bases and consumer markets. He noted that relocating a mill is complex, requiring new land plots and significant investment.
The estimated cost of relocating a mill is about $1 million, and according to Rybchynskyi, only a few enterprises have managed to move their production capacities.
In 2024, Ukraine produced 2.34 million tons of flour — 22% less than in the pre-war year 2021, when output reached 3 million tons.
