The number of large corporate landowners has decreased by one third

Currently, 192 companies in Ukraine own more than 100 hectares of land. For comparison, when the land market opened in 2024, there were 283 such companies. During 2024, the list of large landowners decreased by 51 companies, and last year it dropped by another 40 companies.

In conditions of uncertainty, destroyed infrastructure, difficulties with demining territories, and logistics problems, large companies are not rushing to expand their land banks. This explains the decrease in the number of big landowners, says Denys Marchuk.

«For large businesses, buying land is an investment for десятки years and requires billions in spending. In the current wartime situation, this money is more often directed toward supporting working capital, covering logistics and export risks, and restoring damaged infrastructure (elevators, warehouses, machinery, etc.). Right now, businesses are choosing a model of mobility — renting instead of owning. This allows them to respond faster to risks and change regions of operation more easily. Land is mostly bought by those players who clearly plan long-term work and choose regions with lower risks. This also explains the big difference in land prices between western and southern Ukraine»,

— Denys Marchuk, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council.

Almost one third of the agricultural land owned by businesses in Ukraine belongs to just 10 companies. Together, these ten companies own 18,344.98 hectares. However, even among the leaders there is a big gap: the largest landowning company, the agricultural firm Svitanok, owns 10 times more land than Kuyanlyk, the company that closes the top ten.

«For Ukraine, this has historically been a normal structure of the agricultural sector, where 20–25% of the market belongs to large businesses. The key problem is not concentration itself, but access of small and medium-sized businesses to financial resources. With affordable lending, they can compete fully, including through state land auctions»,

— says Denys Marchuk.

The leader in reducing its land holdings was the company Zemletrade: from 3,161.47 hectares down to 733.57 hectares — almost four times less. Meanwhile, the company Agroforest reduced its land area by 8.6 times, from 1,803.09 hectares to 210.44 hectares. At the same time, 103 companies did not change the size of their land plots at all.

38 companies from the list of large landowners are registered in the Kyiv region. Another 28 companies are registered in Kirovohrad region, and the same number — directly in the city of Kyiv. At the same time, there are no large landowning companies registered in Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, or Chernivtsi regions.

It is worth noting that some of the companies on the list of the largest landowners are registered in territories affected by the war. In particular, 16 companies are registered in temporarily occupied territories. Four companies are registered in active combat zones where state electronic information systems are still functioning. Another 14 companies are located in areas of possible hostilities.

67% of large landowners operate in agriculture — that is 129 companies. Another 33 companies, or 17%, are involved in real estate activities. Eleven companies work in public administration and defense. Four companies operate in wholesale trade, and three companies are in the financial sector.

Among the large landowners, there are also two companies included in the 2025 Opendatabot Index. These are Ukreximbank and Oschadbank, which own land plots with an area of more than 100 hectares.