Ukraine continues to maintain its role as one of the key grain suppliers on the global market. In the 2025/26 marketing year, according to preliminary estimates, the country may export around 14 million tons of wheat, 25 million tons of corn, and 1.52 million tons of barley. This represents approximately 6%, 12%, and 4% of global exports of these crops, respectively. At the same time, the key objective is to create more value within the country.
This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine, Taras Vysotskyi, during an online speech at the conference of the International Grains Council (IGC Grains Conference 2026), held on June 9–10 in London.
This year’s event theme was “Defining the Future Drivers of Global Grain Trade.” The conference brought together more than 350 participants from 62 countries, including representatives of governments, international organizations, producers, traders, and logistics companies.
Taras Vysotskyi took part in the fourth high-level dialogue between producing and importing countries. Participants discussed the role of international trade in strengthening global food security. Special attention was given to countries in the Middle East and Africa, for which stable access to food is critically important.
“Ukraine remains an important part of global food security even in conditions of war. We have preserved exports, adapted logistics, and proven the reliability of the Ukrainian agricultural sector for the global market. Now our task is to create more value within the country. We already have strong examples: sunflower oil and meal, where Ukraine holds strong positions, as well as bioethanol, whose exports have increased almost threefold since the beginning of the full-scale war. The development of processing means jobs, investments, and stronger positions for Ukrainian producers,” said Taras Vysotskyi.
It is increasingly important for Ukraine to increase the share of processed products in agricultural exports. In particular, this includes expanding processing into areas such as grain, soybeans, rapeseed, feed ingredients, biofuels, and the bioeconomy. This requires investment in processing capacity, access to financing, war-risk insurance, stable trade policy, harmonization of standards with the EU, and investment protection.
Such an approach will strengthen Ukraine’s position in foreign markets, increase export resilience, and boost the economic return from the agricultural sector.:
The IGC Grains Conference 2026 took place as part of London Grains Week. The conference is an international platform for dialogue between producing countries, importing countries, businesses, and international organizations on the future of global grain trade. This year’s focus included market prices, risk management, logistics innovation, and the development of trade in grains, oilseeds, and legumes.
