Buckwheat used to feed half the world, now we can barely provide for ourselves: expert on the critical state of the market
20 June 11:21
Ukrainian buckwheat is one of the few crops traditionally grown primarily by small farmers. However, over the past decade, this industry has experienced a rapid decline: from being an export leader, Ukraine has turned into a country that barely covers its own consumption. About this in an interview with
“Ukraine used to be one of the three largest buckwheat exporters. Today, we barely cover our own demand, and our export potential is almost lost,” he said.
All this is the result of Russia’s actions, the expert continued. Even before the full-scale war, Russia was engaged in economic expansion, displacing Ukrainian producers through dumping.
“The situation began to change critically not in 2022, but back in 2016, when Russia began to aggressively seize our buckwheat market. It was an economic expansion – dumping, import of buckwheat under the guise of Kazakh buckwheat. As a result, we lost ⅔ of the area. If in 2011 we sowed up to 200 thousand hectares, in 2019 – only 60 thousand hectares. That is, a threefold drop. Russia controlled up to 50% of our domestic market at that time,” says Hromovyi.
Now the area has recovered somewhat, but it is not enough. Despite the fact that this year 80 thousand hectares of buckwheat were sown, it will be enough only for domestic consumption, the expert summarized.
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However, this is not the only problem, Gromovoy said. According to him, due to the trade agreement with Kazakhstan, Russian groats may once again legally reach the shelves of Ukrainian stores.
