Can grain legumes export be the new success story for Ukraine

In Ukraine, we witness the rapid growth of production and export of grain legumes. According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, in 2016 legumes became the most profitable agricultural products. In our country, they provided farmers with more than 76% profitability. In 2017, Ukraine ranked third in the world in terms of peas production, and the total production of legumes in Ukraine for this year reached 1.2 million tons, which is 1.5 times more than in 2016. In 2018, legumes were cultivated on the area of 568 thousand hectares, which is the biggest area dedicated for this crops for the last 15 years, and according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, as of September 1, almost one million tons have been harvested.

The largest areas dedicated to legumes in Ukraine are Zaporozhye (78.4 thousand hectares), Kharkiv (59.1 thousand hectares), Odessa (48 thousand hectares), and Vinnytsia (30.4 thousand hectares). The main legumes grown in the country are peas, beans, chick-peas, and lentils. The largest share in production belongs to peas, about 70% of the gross output.

The main motivation for the development of the legume grain industry in Ukraine is the high demand for the product from outside markets. The legume’s popularity is, first of all, coming out of the high content of protein, allowing them to be used in the production of highly sufficient animal feed and as a source of animal protein substitute in food, particularly in Asia and Africa, given their significant low cost compared to animal protein, and in countries of Western Europe and North America is indispensable for the growing number of vegetarians. However, the bulk of the product is consumed by the animal feed industry.

The main importers of Ukrainian peas are India (23.7%), Pakistan (12.8%), Spain (11.7%), Yemen (7.4%), Sri Lanka (4.9%), Malaysia ( 4,2%), Poland (4,3%), Somalia (3,7%), Bangladesh (3,6%), Kenya (2,3%), Turkey (2,2%), Ethiopia (2,1%), %), Cameroon (1.8%) and Nepal (1.7%).

DZI Press service