Ukraine’s sunflower was the most profitable crop of 2025

Sunflower delivered the highest return on working capital among Ukraine’s major field crops in 2025. According to the Agrohub Annual Insights study, prepared by Agrohub in cooperation with the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB), sunflower achieved a 94% return on working capital (ROWC), while corn’s indicator fell to 25% from 60% a year earlier.

The sharp decline in corn profitability was mainly driven by high grain moisture at harvest. Increased drying and post-harvest handling costs pushed total production expenses up by 29%, significantly reducing the crop’s economic performance.

The study notes that no crop maintains long-term leadership in profitability or return on working capital. Financial performance varies from season to season depending on weather conditions, yields, market prices and production costs, highlighting the importance of a flexible crop rotation strategy.

Despite weaker returns for some crops, the overall financial performance of the surveyed farms remained close to the previous year’s level. Forecast EBITDA reached $410/ha in 2025, compared with $446/ha in 2024, while remaining well above the levels recorded in 2022 ($48/ha) and 2023 ($129/ha).

According to the report, future farm profitability will increasingly depend on effective management decisions. Producers should take into account not only the previous season’s results but also climate risks, post-harvest costs, crop selection, labour availability and changing market conditions when planning production.

Tags: wheat, sunseed, margin, corn