Liberalizing the land market will move Ukraine $20B toward restoring its agricultural sector.

Liberalization of the agricultural land market and increased transparency can bring $35B to Ukraine’s budget. This could close the current deficit of more than $20B in agricultural recovery financing and help to provide the $500B that is necessary for Ukraine’s overall reconstruction.

The expected economic benefits from the liberalization of the agricultural land market for legal entities are estimated at 1-2.7% of GDP annually over the next three years. Such liberalization and the step towards EU membership will allow foreigners (EU citizens and legal entities) to buy Ukrainian agricultural land, which should bring even more benefits.

Almost 71% of the territory of Ukraine (or 42.7 million hectares) is agricultural land, and 33 million hectares is arable. However, after the start of the full-scale invasion, almost 20% of Ukraine’s agricultural land was occupied, and nearly a third of the farm sector was destroyed. The losses in the agricultural sector currently amount to $80B.