Ukraine’s agricultural sector will avoid mass bankruptcies despite port crisis — opinion

Ukraine’s agricultural sector is unlikely to face a wave of mass bankruptcies despite ongoing problems with port logistics. This opinion was expressed by Oleh Khomenko, CEO of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB), in an interview with the Centre for Economic Strategy.

According to him, some farms may experience financial pressure due to loan repayments or payments for purchased machinery, but such cases are expected to remain isolated. Most farmers traditionally meet their financial obligations after they begin marketing their harvest, typically between October and December.

“The system of agricultural lending and input supply is largely tied to the initial marketing period of the harvest. Therefore, there is no obvious incentive to sell grain now at depressed prices or incur excessive logistics costs,” Khomenko said.

At the same time, he acknowledged that some producers may decide to sell grain earlier because of working capital needs, although such decisions depend on the financial position of each individual farm.

The expert also emphasized the important role of the banking sector under current conditions.

“In wartime, if banks were unwilling to accommodate producers and understand the difficult situations they face, some farms would already have gone bankrupt under financial pressure. That is not happening. The agricultural sector remains attractive to banks and continues to receive financing. There are numerous support programs, including the ‘5–7–9%’ preferential lending scheme, which helps replenish working capital, as well as other compensation mechanisms. Therefore, I do not believe the situation will lead to mass bankruptcies,” he said.

Khomenko stressed that Ukrainian farmers have repeatedly demonstrated resilience and continue operating despite challenging conditions.

“At the moment, I believe agriculture remains one of the most reliable client segments for banks. I hope there will be no major problems with bank financing. There may be isolated misunderstandings, but overall the situation should remain manageable,” he concluded.

Tags: Ukraine, margin