The investments of the European Union member-states into the Ukrainian agricultural sector and their impact on its competitiveness

Abstract

PURPOSE: Investments into the agricultural sector can generate a wide range of developmental benefits for all the subjects involved, being, in addition, among the most efficient ways to reduce poverty and hunger Therefore, the aim of the article was to assess the inflow of the foreign investments into the agricultural sector of Ukraine in its dynamics, to identify the EU countries according to their investments amounts as well as to make some projections of the mentioned investments, which will have to be made into either the economy of Ukraine in general or its agricultural economy sector in particular, taking into account different scenarios of the country development.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: In order to make the research the most robust possible, the descriptive research, empirical and statistical analyses, graphical method (for better visual presentation of the data themselves as well as their dynamics), comparative analysis (to make robust conclusions), the textual and tabular methods (to make the research conduction and its results the most clear possible for those interested) as well as other methods of the scientific research were used in the study presented in the given paper.

FINDINGS: The largest investors into the Ukrainian economy among the EU member-states are: Cyprus, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Sweden. The largest inflow of the foreign investments into Ukraine's agriculture, forestry and fisheries was in 2021, while the smallest one – in 2019. The amount of the foreign investments into the Ukrainian agriculture should be considered in the context of a number of external (the coronavirus pandemic, the outbreak of war, the global economic situation and the prices of agricultural raw materials volatility), but also internal factors, such as: the agricultural system peculiarities, laws, forms of land ownership and the structure of farms.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The research itself as well as its results, presented in the paper, will be useful for the public administrators of all the levels in the institutions indulged into the economy functioning in general and the agricultural economy sector in particular either in Ukraine or the European Union member-states, politicians and decision makers dealing with the international relations and trade, especially with the agricultural products, higher educational establishments lecturers, teaching subjects connected with investments, data analysts and statisticians – either beginners or experienced ones.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The originality of the conducted research lies in the assessment of the investments amount flown into the economy of Ukraine in general as well as its agricultural economy sector in particular, making stress on the ones from the European Union memberstates, in their dynamics through pre- and during war years, paying a special attention at their influence on the functioning and competitiveness of the mentioned sectors.