Agriculture & Food

Recently, the Ukrainian Development and Research Center reported that in 2022, the Ukrainian soybean industry will benefit from the increase in planting area, production growth and high prices. The soybean export value will reach 1.75 billion US dollars, setting a record in Uzbekistan’s history after 2013. The same is true for beef, where soybeans and beef will underpin this year's historical record for cargo exports. The export market for unprocessed soybeans is narrow, but exports to China, which account for more than half of its total exports, are subject to a 3 percent tariff. Other markets such as Egypt, Bangladesh and Turkey have increased their share in recent years.

Soybeans are an important source of income for most of the coastal and central Ukrainian regions. Soybean farms and related agricultural services employ 8,000 to 15,000 people. The logistics link of soybean transshipment to the port will create about 2,000 jobs, with a total salary of 3.6 million US dollars and a total output value of about 90 million US dollars.

Uzbekistan has increased soybean productivity, with an average yield of about 3,000 kilograms per hectare, higher than the historical average. The drought has not had a major impact on Uzbekistan's soybean production, except in northern Uzbekistan or other specific areas. Unfavourable weather resulted in higher yields in Uzbekistan, as did Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Economists at the center believe that the soybean market will remain stable in the short term as the market has strong demand for grains, while grain prices remain high due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, while biofuel manufacturing exacerbates soybean supply shortages.