By The European Times | Created at 2026-08-06 11:45:34 | Updated at 2026-08-06 13:42:15
4 hours ago
The Institute of Agrarian Economics of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences published a number in the middle of the harvest, with which every farmer can check himself: below 500 kg per hectare at 9,000 hryvnias (about 176 euros) per ton, wheat is at a loss.
The number that Ukrainian science gave the farmer
On July 28, in the midst of the harvest, the Ukrainian National Scientific Center “Institute of Agrarian Economics” announced through the specialized publication AgroPortal.ua a single number with which every farmer can check himself, without waiting for the end of the season: at a market price of 9,000 hryvnias per ton (about 176 euros/t at an exchange rate of 51.2 UAH/euro), the threshold of profitability for winter wheat is about 5 tons per hectare – that is, 500 kg per hectare. The calculation behind the number is open: the institute estimates the cost of growing a hectare of wheat this year at about 45,000 hryvnias, which is approximately 88 euros per decare. Whoever divides 88 by 0.176 gets 500 — below this yield, the income from the decare does not cover its costs.
The reason for the statement is diesel, which in Ukraine approached 90 hryvnias per liter (about 1.76 euros/l) right at the height of the campaign. Fuel and lubricants account for 12–15 percent of the production costs of Ukrainian farms — second only to mineral fertilizers. Over 85 percent of diesel in the agricultural sector is burned directly in field work, and a third of this amount falls on the harvest — so the price increase reaches the cost price almost immediately. The author of the assessment, corresponding member Oleksandr Zakharchuk, explicitly points out that fuel is only one of the feathers: in total, costs have increased by about 15 percent per year — fertilizers, seeds, preparations, electricity, logistics, labor. The intermediate average yield in Ukraine as of July 28, with 30 percent harvested areas, is 432 kg/hectare — below the threshold, although it will grow with the inclusion of more productive areas.
A scientific institution has translated the market into a single number that the farmer can compare with the display of his combine that very day.
Illustrative photo: pexels-anna-lupa-2161503734-38598699
