Africa’s interest in agro-processing creates an opportunity for Ukraine to develop agri-hubs

Fifty-four African countries want to focus on localizing agro-processing. Against this backdrop, Ukraine’s initiative to build food hubs on the continent could become a tool for strengthening its market position, said Artem Hudkov, head of the Ukrainian-African Trade Mission, to Latifundist.com at the Forbes Agro 2026 conference.

According to Hudkov, African partners explicitly state that to develop crop production, processing facilities must already be built, because constructing them later would be costly and complicated. “They want processing localization. For them, this is a half-step. The next step will be localizing crop production. And Ukraine could work very effectively in this direction,” Hudkov said.

Responding to a question about the risk of Ukrainian producers losing margin if part of the grain processing is transferred to African partners, he emphasized that it is impossible to process the entire volume of raw materials. “First, it’s technically impossible to process everything. Second, we can continue to bury our heads in the sand and ignore reality. If 54 African countries have declared a focus on processing localization, one could talk endlessly about what we are losing or under-processing. That can be discussed. But if our approaches and concept do not fit into the strategy that Africans have planned for themselves, how can we cooperate with them?” he explained.

The Ukrainian-African Trade Mission has three offices in Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania. It conducts extensive research, including for Ukrainian companies, to understand and identify potential opportunities for entering this market for individual Ukrainian companies with specific product portfolios. “There’s no other way to figure out whether a niche exists or not. When you do a detailed analysis for a particular group of products, at some point you realize that there is actually no assortment, and what looks like a range of brands is in fact a monopoly of a single player controlling the shelf under different company names. All of this needs to be studied. Overall, however, exporting Ukrainian products is very feasible, especially now when conditions are favorable. EU representatives are ready to support our products going to other regions so that our exports are not concentrated only in the EU,” Hudkov explained.

He added that to evaluate whether a particular concept or approach is well-developed, it is necessary to consider Ukraine’s overall strategy in Africa. “We all need to openly discuss this question and give an answer. From a trade perspective, we have something to offer Africa. And once everyone honestly looks each other in the eye and provides answers regarding volumes and potential, for example for Sub-Saharan Africa, only then can we discuss strategy. A problem can only be solved after correctly diagnosing it,” Hudkov noted.

It is worth recalling that at the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine predictably lost African markets to Russia. Afterwards, the government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other state bodies sought to restore its position through programs like Grain from Ukraine and Food from Ukraine, opening embassies in several African countries, and plans to build food hubs. Ukraine signed its first Memorandum on creating an agri-hub in Africa with Ghana in November 2025. In January, a similar agreement was concluded with Congo, followed later by the UAE.

Tags: Ukraine, Africa