Ukrainian farmers are facing a serious problem of agricultural machinery shortages, which significantly affects the efficiency of their operations. According to the Institute of Agricultural Economics, over the past three years, the availability of machinery for farms has decreased across almost all major categories.
This is reported by Business • Media
Reduction in Machinery Fleet and Production
Agricultural enterprises in 2023 had 22% fewer tractors, 13.5% fewer combines, and 12% fewer plows compared to 2021. At the same time, there has been a sharp decline in domestic production of agricultural machinery: over the last 10-15 years, tractor production in Ukraine has decreased by 18 times, plows by 11.1 times, cultivators by 7.8 times, seeders by 5.7 times, and mowers by 17 times. As a result, the share of domestic machinery in the internal market has fallen from 52% in 2012 to just 20.5% in 2023.
Dependence on Imports and Government Support
Despite the overall reduction in imports, farmers’ dependence on foreign machinery remains significant. In 2024, $988.7 million was spent on the purchase of imported machinery, of which $404 million went to tractors and $159 million to grain harvesting combines. At the same time, within the framework of the state program to compensate for the cost of Ukrainian machinery, which was resumed after a pause in 2022-2023, nearly 300 tractors and about 3,000 units of seeding and tillage equipment were purchased in 2024.
“The share of Ukrainian machinery in the internal market has decreased from 52% in 2012 to 20.5% in 2023.”