For Oleg Bakhmatyuk, joining forces with Ukraine is the way for the EU to succeed

Last July, Russia decided to end its contribution to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement firmed among Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the United Nations during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The decision was not taken with a positive tone internationally, with the United States claiming that "Putin simply does not care about global food security."

But despite that, Ukraine's agriculture has shown resilience during the conflicted times. So much so that it has prompted backlash from other nations. Polish farmers have recently blocked the roads on the country's border with Ukraine as a form of protest against the EU Green Aid program, which tackles policies on climate change and the end of the wave of customs duties.

According to Oleg Bakhmatyuk, founder and CEO of Urklandfarming, a group of major agricultural companies in Ukraine and globally, this was a bad decision as the consequence was giving Russia an advantage in providing agricultural supplies to the European Union.

To Bakhmatyuk, the EU's economic security policies should aim to replace Russian supplies with Ukrainian, but that is not what happened: "For some reason, blockades are being imposed against Ukraine, but Polish agricultural producers have complaints about the EU's economic policy, not Ukraine."

In the case of Poland, the country imported more than 12,000 tonnes of grain from Russia between January 2022 and May 2023. However, this has not prompted any protests in the country or elsewhere. In fact, similar occurrences were observed in more European countries, as farmers fear Ukraine joining the European Union.

For the founder of Urklandfarming, this is "a rather primitive concern". "The future of the European Union, including Ukraine, lies in joining forces and strengthening the EU's competitiveness in global food markets. Such a consolidation of efforts will create a single large and independent player, which is the way to significantly increase the economic capacity of the European Union", he explains.

Bakhmatyuk cites as a positive example the case of the Ukrainian and Bulgarian sunflower productions. In 2022, Ukraine has exported almost 3 million tonnes of the plant, a significant increase in the average yearly production of 15,000 tonnes. Bulgarian farmers, however, could not achieve the same results in their harvest. But with Ukraine facing serious problems with processing facilities that were destroyed and/or paused due to the war, diplomatic measures could be a way around.

"In the case of Bulgaria, it was not a conflict, but a synergy: we did not export sunflower for a certain period of the season until the local farmers sold the crop", explains the founder of Urklandfarming. "Then, we helped local crushers to a great extent and, thanks to the export of Ukrainian sunflower, they have loaded their processing plants and are successfully selling their products. Everybody benefited."

Another example cited by Bakhmatyuk is Romania. The country has significantly strengthened its position as an exporter thanks to Ukrainian grain. This successful partnership has allowed the Romanian Constanta port to reach historic exporting volumes in 2023. According to reports, it is calculated that 36 million metric tons of grain were exported last year, an increase that goes up 50% when compared to 2022.

The export corridor has also been of great help for countries to achieve similar objectives. For Bakhmatyuk, this is not a miracle but the result of hard work and efforts by the Ukrainian government, defense forces, and Ukrainian agricultural producers.

Last year, Ukraine managed to get closer to the pre-war 2021 port transshipment figure and, in January 2024, the country exported 12 million tonnes of products, which means a decrease of only 2 million tonnes. "To get figures back to normal though, the security in the Black Sea must be maintained. Then, gradual growths in maritime exports would be able to be observed", says the CEO.

Ukraine has thus secured long-term support from partners which are now allowing the country's economy to keep growing. In 2023, the country still grew 5%. "Ukraine has demonstrated resilience and predictability, which means it is attractive for investors in a market as dynamic as the European", explains Oleg Bakhmatyuk.

Unlike the agricultural sector though, the metallurgical industry in Ukraine has been more heavily impacted. With the destruction of production facilities, production has declined significantly. Bakhmatyuk mentions that the share of metallurgical production in the composition of industrial sales decreased by 7.9 percentage points compared to 2021, amounting to 9.1%.

All in all, the entrepreneur is still optimistic about the future and the forecasts. "Investment is expected to grow by almost 30% in 2024 compared to last year. This means that we are becoming a more modern and interesting economy for investors", says the founder of Urklandfarming. For him, despite the war, there are still plenty of opportunities for Ukraine to achieve a much stronger economic position in the future.