Will Ukrainian farmers benefit from joining the EU?

Ukrainian farmers can receive €7.6-€13.5B per year within the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) framework. This could create a severe fiscal burden on other member states, which is an argument against Ukraine joining the bloc.

The Center for Economic Strategy believes that payment estimates are somewhat overestimated and should not become an argument against Ukraine’s accession to the EU, as 85% of the value of Ukrainian agricultural products comes from large scale agricultural enterprises. More accurate estimates should be based on an actual sample of farms.

In addition, the CAP calculates direct payments to farmers for each hectare of land, favoring small farms that predominate in the EU, while Ukraine has a significant number of large farms and there is a cap on payments for large farm owners.

According to CES calculations, payments for Ukrainian farmers, should they join the EU, will not exceed €5B per year. Common Agricultural Policy will not harm Ukrainian producers, but on the contrary, it will be beneficial for small organic producers.