Market analysis: Ukrainian business is in no hurry to buy land en masse

Since the opening of the land market by the end of the first quarter of 2024, 114.8 thousand land plots with a total area of almost 347.2 thousand hectares have been sold in Ukraine. These statistics were published by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

• 2021: Since July 1, 27.7 thousand plots with an area of 100.3 thousand hectares have been sold. The average price per hectare was 32,972 hryvnias.
• 2022: 23.1 thousand plots with an area of 69.2 thousand hectares were alienated, with an average cost of UAH 34,202 per hectare.
• 2023: The number of transactions increased to 40.85 thousand, and the total area of alienated land amounted to 114.1 thousand hectares. The average price per hectare rose to UAH 38,804.

As of the beginning of 2024, the average price per hectare reached UAH 45.2 thousand, and the area of land sold amounted to 70.28 thousand hectares, covering 23.2 thousand transactions.

• Legal entities acquired 3.6 thousand plots with a total area of 11.6 thousand hectares, with an average price of UAH 64.1 thousand per hectare.
• Individuals acquired 19.6 thousand plots with a total area of 58.67 thousand hectares, with an average cost of UAH 41.5 thousand per hectare.

entities purchased the most land in Poltava (1,037 plots), Sumy (496 plots) and Zhytomyr (354 plots) regions. The highest average prices per hectare were recorded in Odesa (UAH 115.6 thousand), Ivano-Frankivsk (UAH 110.7 thousand) and Rivne (UAH 96 thousand) regions.

In the first quarter of 2024, the number of transactions almost reached the level observed in the first two years of the market’s operation. At the same time, legal entities accounted for only 20% of all transactions, and the market tended to see a trend towards secondary sales of land plots, with companies buying land from individuals.

Despite the challenges of the war, the land market in Ukraine remains attractive to investors. However, massive land purchases by legal entities are not a pressing issue. The war and global prices for agricultural products limit business opportunities for such large-scale actions.