Ukraine’s Market of Certified Seed: Current State and Prospects for the Future

Abstract

The production of high-quality seeds and planting material is the basis for increasing the efficiency and sustainability of crop production. The main aim of this article is to develop proposals to ensure that supply meets the demand in the seed and planting material market Ukraine. The future prospects are also discussed. The paper uses statistical and comparative analysis. The patterns of foreign trade in seeds and planting material to and from Ukraine are analyzed. The high level of import dependence of Ukraine leads to excessive exposure to instability in the world seed market. The development of seed production in Ukraine is discussed and analyzed along with the ways for improving commercial circulation of seeds and planting materials. The export volumes of grains and oilseeds in 2020 were the highest of those over the last three decades and amounted to USD 18.7 million, which is almost twice more than in 2019. Corn seeds dominate in exports (72%). The volume of imports of seeds of grains and oilseeds exceeded exports by 22 times in value and, in 2020, amounted to USD 409.4 million. In the total volume of imports, imports of sunflower seeds accounted for 53%. The upward trend of seed imports has been maintained since 2010. It was the result of increased demand for imported seeds by large- and medium-sized agricultural producers. In 2020, COVID-19 gave impetus to the development of domestic seed production and foreign breeding companies within the country. Prospective ways to accelerate the development of the organization of the Ukrainian seed and planting material market are outlined. Ukraine has prospects for increasing the export of seeds of grains and oilseeds by expanding its production by foreign companies operating in Ukraine. Solving problems of competitiveness seed production in Ukraine will make it possible to strengthen the role of domestic breeding in the seed market, as well as to use the best foreign varieties through their commercial circulation.