Ukraine has started exporting buckwheat to Europe thanks to refugees

In Europe, where buckwheat is generally not eaten, there is now a demand for it thanks to Ukrainian refugees. Taras Vysotsky, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, told Apostrophe in an interview.

According to Vysotsky, Ukrainians are creating a significant demand for buckwheat in Europe and are actively spreading the culture of its consumption, and Ukraine has established its exports for the first time in a long time.

“This makes European chains buy this product in Ukraine. The government, for its part, is contributing to this. All restrictions on buckwheat exports that existed before have been lifted. Thanks to this, buckwheat exports to Europe have begun,” the Deputy Minister added.

According to the deputy head of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, this year Ukraine received a record buckwheat harvest of about 220 thousand tons, which is almost twice the annual consumption of our country.

“Speaking of grains and oilseeds, which form the basis of domestic exports, we harvested 22 million tons of wheat, almost 6 million tons of barley, and up to 30 million tons of corn. The harvest of rapeseed amounted to 4 million tons, soybeans – 4.7 million tons, and sunflower – 13 million tons. In total, we plan to harvest about 80 million tons of grains and oilseeds,” says the deputy head of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.

Vysotsky emphasizes that about 20 million tons of grain is enough to meet Ukraine’s domestic needs.

“This figure may increase slightly over the course of the year, as we are now seeing an increase in livestock production. However, in any case, domestic consumption will not exceed 25 million tons. Thus, we still have 55-60 million tons of agricultural products for export,” explained the First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food.

In April, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy predicted that buckwheat prices in Ukraine would remain at the same level in 2023, and even a price reduction was possible.

Currently, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food is working to fill the market with the necessary supplies and stabilize prices.

Tags: Buckwheat, Ukraine, export, EU