The Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC), which represents the interests of more than 1,400 small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises across Ukraine, has called on Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi to take immediate anti-crisis measures in response to the suspension of vessel calls at Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

The UAC warns that the combination of disrupted maritime logistics, damaged port infrastructure, export restrictions and rising input costs threatens to render agricultural production unprofitable, drive enterprises into bankruptcy and disrupt the production cycle.

“Taken together, the challenges currently facing the agricultural sector are significantly more dangerous and severe in their consequences than even those of 2022. The agricultural sector is rapidly heading towards a crisis of unprofitable production, which will have a negative multiplier effect on the entire economy,” the UAC said in its appeal.

According to UAC estimates, production of the major grain and oilseed crops in the 2026/2027 marketing year will amount to approximately 81.4 million tonnes. Taking into account carry-over stocks, the total volume available for domestic consumption and export will reach approximately 85 million tonnes.

Ukraine will need to export around 67 million tonnes of agricultural products. However, if the seaports remain shut, export capacity could fall to just 1.7 million tonnes per month, creating a substantial surplus on the domestic market.

“A prolonged blockade of the seaports risks creating an enormous commodity surplus: between 27.4 and 32.4 million tonnes of excess agricultural production will continue to put pressure on the market throughout the marketing year,” the UAC noted.

According to the association, purchase prices have already begun to fall sharply after grain traders suspended purchases. In some cases, prices have dropped to around USD 160 per tonne, which is below the full cost of production.

“The situation requires immediate decisions. This is not an ordinary seasonal deterioration in market conditions, but a risk of disruption to the production cycle in one of the key sectors of the Ukrainian economy,” the UAC stressed.

To avert a large-scale economic and banking crisis, agricultural producers are urging the government to introduce a comprehensive package of anti-crisis measures. The proposals include preferential lending to replenish working capital for the autumn sowing campaign, the restructuring of existing agricultural loans, state guarantees for loans and revisions to certain terms of the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% Programme.

The UAC also proposes conducting an urgent assessment of damage to the port infrastructure of Greater Odesa and the Danube ports, identifying priority facilities for restoration, and allocating funding for the repair and modernisation of cargo handling capacity.

“The extraordinary circumstances facing the agricultural sector and the national economy as a whole require equally extraordinary decisions that go beyond the mandate of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and can only be addressed at the level of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine,” the appeal states.

The agricultural producers also asked the Prime Minister to hold a personal meeting with UAC representatives to discuss urgent measures to support the sector.