Ukraine loses more than a third of its harvest due to lack of vegetable storage facilities – Koval

In Ukraine, up to 35% of the vegetable harvest is lost due to the lack of proper storage conditions. To overcome this problem, the government is working to create a national network of vegetable storage facilities. This was reported to by Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval .

"Today, 35% of the vegetable harvest does not reach the consumer simply because of the lack of proper storage conditions.", – Koval emphasized.

According to him, the war destroyed more than 281,000 tons of simultaneous storage capacity, and the total deficit exceeds 1.1 million tons.

The creation of a modern storage system will not only store products, but also stabilize prices, support farmers, create new jobs and develop exports of processed products.

In addition, the construction of vegetable storage facilities can be a tool to curb inflation and a step towards import substitution and the development of exports of value-added products.

"We are moving towards the model of an agro-industrial country, where processed products rather than raw materials create economic value.", – added Koval.

The minister gave an example: one hectare of land in Ukraine brings an average of 1,000 euros in export revenue, while in Denmark it is 15,000 euros.

"Our task is to reduce this difference.", – Koval emphasized.

• In December 2023, Dmytro Solomchuk, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy, stated that there was no shortage of vegetables in Ukraine. Problems can only be with their storage .
• As of 2023, there were still at least 150-170 vegetable storage facilities lacking for storing products.
• In January 2025, Koval said that Ukraine was planning a large-scale construction of vegetable storage facilities in each region.