Ukraine's potato sector is heading into the 2025 season with higher production, following expanded acreage and improved yields. According to Mykola Furdyga, director of the Potato Institute, the planted area increased by 25% compared to last year, and favourable weather conditions supported a 25% rise in yield. "It is very easy to calculate how many potatoes we produce.
If the average farm price is 8 UAH/kg (US$0.20/kg), and last year it was 20 UAH/kg (US$0.50/kg), then I think we have 50% more production: Production areas have expanded by 25% and the harvest has increased by 25% thanks to weather conditions," he said at the conference The state of development of the potato industry and the potential of processing enterprises in Volyn. Furdyga added that Ukraine does not require such a large volume even when accounting for deep processing into products such as chips or starch.
He also addressed Ukraine's import of more than 123,000 tons of potatoes in the 2024–2025 marketing year. He explained that the high import volume resulted from the unusual weather conditions of 2024, during which the country experienced a record drought. European suppliers provided competitively priced potatoes, while imports from Egypt remained in their traditional off-season role during February and March. Ukraine continues to import seed potatoes from breeders in the European Union.
Furdyga noted a shift in production patterns since the start of the war, with household plantings declining and farm and agribusiness plantings expanding, driven by depopulation in rural areas and mobilisation. He stated that domestic potato varieties account for 10–12% of national production, mainly grown by smaller producers. In 2025, domestic varieties were propagated on about 300 hectares by Biotech Ltd. and Brovary Kartoplya Ltd. in the Kyiv region, and STOV Desna in the Chernihiv region. Ukraine's 2024 harvest fell by 18%, down by 4 million tons to approximately 17.36 million tons, compared with 21.36 million tons in 2023.
Source: Ukraine Open For Business
