Since the opening of the land market in Ukraine in 2024, the number of large corporate landowners has declined by nearly one third, according to data from the State Land Cadastre of Ukraine, reports ProAgro Group.
Currently, 192 companies in Ukraine own more than 100 hectares of agricultural land, compared with 283 companies two years ago. The list of large landowners shrank by 51 companies in 2024 and by another 40 companies in 2025.
Amid uncertainty, infrastructure destruction, demining challenges, and logistics constraints, large companies are reluctant to expand their land banks. This explains the reduction in the number of major landowners, says Denys Marchuk, Deputy Head of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council.
“For large businesses, buying land is an investment for decades and requires billions in capital. Today, companies increasingly choose a flexible model — leasing instead of ownership. This allows them to respond faster to risks and shift their regional presence. Land is mainly purchased by those who plan long-term operations in lower-risk regions, which explains the significant price gap between western and southern Ukraine,” Marchuk noted.
Almost one third of all agricultural land owned by businesses is concentrated in the hands of just 10 companies, which together control 18,344.98 hectares. However, even among the top ten there is a significant gap: the largest landowner, Svitanok, owns ten times more land than Kuyalnyk, which closes the ranking.
According to Marchuk, such a structure is historically typical for Ukraine’s agricultural sector, where 20–25% of land is controlled by large businesses. “The key issue is not land concentration itself, but access to financial resources for small and medium-sized farmers. With affordable credit, they can compete effectively, including through state land auctions,” he emphasized.
The largest reduction in land holdings was recorded by Zemletrade, whose land bank decreased almost fourfold — from 3,161.47 ha to 733.57 ha. Agroforest reduced its land area by 8.6 times, from 1,803.09 ha to 210.44 ha. At the same time, 103 companies did not change the size of their land holdings at all.
Regionally, 38 large landowning companies are registered in the Kyiv region, while 28 companies are registered in Kirovohrad region and another 28 directly in Kyiv. No large corporate landowners are registered in Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, or Chernivtsi regions.
It is also noteworthy that part of the largest landowners are registered in war-affected areas. Sixteen companies are registered in temporarily occupied territories, four companies in active combat zones where state electronic systems continue to operate, and 14 companies in areas of potential hostilities.
Only 67% of large landowners (129 companies) operate directly in agriculture. The rest are engaged in real estate operations, public administration and defense, wholesale trade, or the financial sector.
Earlier, analysts reported that Ukraine’s agricultural land market in 2025 entered a more mature and predictable phase, with buyers focusing more on land quality and regional attractiveness than on sheer scale. From January to mid-December 2025, 115.6 thousand land plots with a total area exceeding 340 thousand hectares were sold. Legal entities purchased 43 thousand plots (128.2 thousand ha), while individuals acquired 72.6 thousand plots totaling nearly 212 thousand ha.
Source: OpenDataBot
