Surging fuel, fertiliser prices do not threaten Ukraine's spring crop sowing, official says

By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV, March 27 (Reuters) - A sharp rise in fuel and fertilizer prices due to the Iran war are not expected to disrupt Ukraine's spring sowing of grains and other crops, its deputy economy minister said on Friday.

Ukraine is a major global oilseed and grain producer, which generated $22 billion in export revenue in 2025, but its crop yields rely heavily on fertiliser use.

"Among the key challenges are a significant rise in fuel costs, as well as a 30–35% increase in the price of fertilisers driven by global market factors," the ministry quoted Taras Vysotskiy as saying.

"This places an additional financial burden on farmers, but does not jeopardise the campaign," he added.

HIGH PRICES

The war in Iran has pushed gas and oil prices up sharply, driving up the cost of fertilisers and fuel made from them.

Ukraine does not buy fuel and fertilizers directly from the Gulf states, but the war has driven up prices globally, including those charged by producers in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, Ukraine's main suppliers.

Kostyantyn Kinzhalov, an analyst at Kyiv-based Barva Invest, told an online traders' meeting that domestic prices of urea - a widely used fertiliser during sowing - had jumped 65% since the start of the year and 43% since late February.

Diesel fuel, the main type used by farmers, has also become more expensive and, according to one fuel trader quoted by Enkorr consultancy, its wholesale prices had jumped by nearly 50% in less than a month because of the Middle East war.

ONLY BEGINNING OF SOWING

Vysotskiy said only the first 200,000 hectares of spring crops had been sown so far, while the total sowing area could reach 16 million hectares.

The ministry earlier this month said the area could include 5 million hectares of sunflower, 6 million hectares of various grains, 2 million hectares of soy and some acreage of other crops.

Analysts and weather forecasters said earlier this year that the extreme cold last winter may have damaged up to 10% of winter grain and oilseed crops, which will need to be replanted in the spring.

Vysotskiy, however, said that "as of today, we are not seeing any force majeure factors that could significantly affect the pace of the work."

Vysotskiy told Reuters on Thursday that a sharp rise in fertiliser prices was unlikely to prompt big changes in Ukraine's crop-planting plans this year, but could push farmers to cut back on fertiliser-intensive corn in 2027.