Some estimates could also be overly optimistic however authorities and stakeholders in Ukraine agree that hemp fields are prone to develop this yr regardless of the persevering with Russian assault within the east.
Whereas the nation’s agriculture ministry advised hemp plantings might attain 8,000 hectares (about 20,000 acres), extra modest projections counsel half of that whole will go within the floor.
The nation’s Institute of Bast Crops stated it’s cautious of constructing predictions as a result of environmental, political, and army dangers, however Oleg Primakov, who heads the Institute’s scientific analysis division, estimated that planted fields might whole 4,500 hectares.
That determine, in flip, is “on the excessive facet,” in keeping with Roman Fedorowycz, who grows hemp and different crops close to Rivne within the northwestern a part of the nation. Most hemp farming and processing stretches throughout the northern half of Ukraine.
Regular development
Estimates from current years counsel that Ukrainian hemp fields have pushed steadily upward – from 1,500 hectares in 2023 and a couple of,000 in 2024. The Q1 2025 HempToday Journal reported a consensus of sources projected this yr’s fields will likely be roughly 3,000 hectares – a 33% enhance year-on-year.
A significant hemp processing plant within the Zhytomyr oblast within the northwestern a part of Ukraine might partially gasoline the expansion of hemp plantings. The manufacturing facility, developed by the Ma’Rijani Hemp Firm, is positioned within the Ma’Rizhany industrial park. The corporate sources hemp from 700 hectares of land, with plans to extend fields to not less than 1,200 hectares by participating extra farmers within the Zhytomyr area.
The adoption of a medical hashish regulation in Ukraine has considerably elevated curiosity in hemp cultivation, because it clarified regulatory pathways and expanded market alternatives for farmers. Whereas the regulation primarily focuses on high-THC medical marijuana, it might ultimately open pathways for hemp-derived CBD to be built-in into the medical market.
Concurrently, the launch of an digital registry system removes longstanding bureaucratic hurdles which have traditionally hampered hemp manufacturing. Developed by the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Ministry of Agrarian Coverage and Meals, the system streamlines administrative procedures, permitting companies to register and handle hemp cultivation actions effectively.
‘Full transparency’
“This process will present full transparency and remove paperwork because it makes hemp simply one other agricultural crop,” stated Sergiy Kovalenkov of Kyiv-based Hempire. “Any farmer can develop any quantity of hemp so long as it’s specified within the digital database and doesn’t comprise greater than 0.2% THC.”
Farmers and processors can now full registrations, declare crops and yields, enter laboratory check knowledge, and analyze agricultural plots by way of an interactive map, all inside a unified digital platform that reduces corruption dangers.
Beforehand, acquiring licenses for hemp manufacturing might take as much as three months, however below new laws, companies solely must register with the digital system – eliminating quotas and licensing necessities altogether.
Business observers counsel that whereas precise hemp plantings could fall wanting authorities forecasts, the medical hashish regulation and the digital registration program assist lay the groundwork for long-term development of the sector. Based on Vitaliy Koval, Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Coverage and Meals, the reforms will contribute to the nation’s ambition to reestablish itself as a frontrunner in industrial hemp cultivation.
