Ukraine has every chance to make walnuts one of the key products of its agricultural integration with the European Union. This is evidenced by a study by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) titled "Ukraine's Walnut Industry", according to Dengi.ua with link to SuperAgronom.com.
According to analysts, in 2024/25 marketing year Ukraine ranked fourth in the world in terms of walnut production - about 101 thousand tons. According to this indicator, the country is second only to China, the United States and Chile. In 2023, exports of Ukrainian walnuts reached about 77 million dollars.
At the same time, experts note that the industry is only beginning to acquire the features of a full-fledged business. More than 95% of nuts are still grown on private farms, which makes the Ukrainian model unique and the opposite of, for example, the American model, where production is concentrated in large industrial orchards.
"This is a unique production model, completely opposite to, for example, the American one - using large industrial orchards in the United States," the experts emphasized.
According to KSE researchers, with active support from the government and international donors, the sector is capable of significant growth. For example, the eWork grant program, which compensates up to 70% of the costs of creating orchards, has already allocated billions of hryvnias to the development of nut crops. Thanks to this, they have become one of the most supported areas of horticulture. The experience of recent years confirms the effectiveness of such measures: from 2018 to 2023, about 6 thousand hectares of new nut orchards were laid with state support.
In addition, economists also emphasize that the added value of products increases significantly after processing - peeled nuts are sold almost four times more expensive than unpeeled ones. In 2023, they were the ones that accounted for 72% of Ukrainian exports. The main buyers remain EU countries (they account for 58% of revenue), as well as Turkey, France and Romania.
"Walnut is one of the most promising export crops of Ukraine. It can become the flagship product of Ukraine's agrarian integration with the EU. Even despite the war, fragmented production and political challenges, our producers are able to compete with the leading European ones. For this purpose, it is necessary to provide entrepreneurs with seedlings and consultations. At the same time, it is necessary to bring the industry in line with the EU requirements," KSE noted.
According to experts, in order to accelerate the development of the nut sector, it is necessary to solve two key problems - lack of quality seedlings and low standards of production and storage, which negatively affect the quality of products.
Import of planting material, according to analysts, does not solve the problem: seedlings from France and Moldova are poorly adapted to Ukrainian soils. In addition, mold and toxins arising from uneven drying or improper storage remain a serious barrier to competitiveness. It is these factors, according to the researchers, that hamper the development of the industry and prevent a deeper integration of Ukraine into the EU market.
