Agricultural holdings in Ukraine expand corn acreage in 2026
Agricultural holdings in Ukraine are increasing corn planting areas in 2026, while reducing sunflower or soybean acreage. The main reasons cited are weather conditions, crop rotation requirements, and market factors, according to data from companies surveyed by Latifundist.com.
At Continental Farmers Group, no major changes in the crop structure were initially planned for the season. However, due to unfavourable weather, the company was unable to sow about 10,000 hectares of winter wheat, so these areas will be redistributed to spring crops, primarily corn.
According to the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Kostiantyn Shytiuk, compared with 2025, the soybean area decreased by about 8% to 45,500 ha. At the same time, sunflower acreage increased by nearly 28.7% to 20,200 ha, while corn planting rose by 40.4%.
Corn acreage is also expanding significantly at Agrain Group. The group’s spring crop area increased to 33,000 ha, which is 23% more than last year. More than 25,000 ha will be planted with corn, almost twice as much as in the previous season. Meanwhile, sunflower acreage declined by nearly 39% to 8,000 ha, and in Odesa region, the crop has been removed from the crop rotation entirely.
“These changes in the crop structure are driven by a combination of market priorities (growing demand for corn), agronomic risks (yield stability and moisture availability), and compliance with crop rotation,” explained the Chief Agronomist of Agrain Group Taras Korniienko.
At HarvEast Holding, corn acreage will also increase to 10,500 ha, which is 1,500 ha more than last year, while sunflower planting will be reduced to 6,000 ha. According to the company’s Chief Agronomist, Petro Kravchuk, the decision is mainly related to maintaining proper crop rotation.
In the northern cluster of Epicentr Agro, corn acreage is planned to increase by about 40%. The cluster’s head of agronomy, Dmytro Franchuk, explained that corn provides consistently high yields and relatively low production costs, making it economically attractive. At the same time, the cluster plans to temporarily stop growing sunflower in 2026 to allow the soils to “rest”.
