Sunflower continues to be the most profitable crop for Ukrainian farmers, maintaining its leadership in terms of net income. This was reported by researchers from the Institute of Grain Crops of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences (NAAS) and the National Scientific Center “Institute of Agrarian Economics” during the round table “The Most Profitable Crops in 2026: What Farmers Should Grow,” organized by the All-Ukrainian Farmers Congress with the support of Mercy Corps, ProAgro Group reports.

According to research data, sunflower consistently accounted for the largest share of profits in the structure of revenues from agricultural product sales of small farms in 2019–2024, ranging from 30% to more than 40% depending on the year.

“Farmers earn the highest net income from sunflower. If we talk about profit after all costs and payments, this crop ranks first,” said Dmytro Liudvenko, Doctor of Economics and senior researcher at the Institute of Agrarian Economics.

Experts also highlighted key trends in the agricultural market. Production technologies are becoming more expensive, while yields remain at the 2021 level despite the war and climate changes. At the same time, drought remains a serious challenge, and soil water availability has not improved.

For southern and eastern regions, specialists recommend focusing on less moisture-dependent crops such as winter wheat, barley, peas, flax, and oilseeds, as well as maintaining crop rotations of five to six crops. In 2025, sugar beet and corn showed the highest yields, while corn for grain became the leader in profitability.

Earlier it was reported that in the 2025/26 marketing year Ukraine is expected to significantly reduce oilseed production, with total output falling by 14.4% to about 19 million tonnes, compared to 22.2 million tonnes in the previous season.