PRICE TRENDS AND DEMAND FOR UKRAINE’S AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS IN THE CONTEXT OF ENSURING FOOD SECURITY

Abstract

The article examines price trends and demand dynamics for agricultural products in Ukraine in the context of ensuring national food security. It is demonstrated that the blockade of traditional export channels, physical destruction of production and storage facilities, extensive land mining, and a sharp rise in production costs have caused a significant decline in the number of active agricultural producers, increased price volatility on both domestic and external markets, and a profound transformation of internal demand patterns. Particular attention is devoted to the decisive role of inadequate financial provision of financial resources to the sector: the limited volume and instability of state support programmes, low effectiveness of existing credit mechanisms, and the predominantly short-term orientation of risk-sharing instruments have reinforced persistent negative tendencies in the food market and considerably weakened the overall resilience of the national food system. The study systematizes the multifactor influences on food security by classifying them into five coherent groups – demographic, price-related, logistical, infrastructural and technogenic, as well as environmental and agrotechnological – and clearly reveals their synergistic impact on the contraction of supply and the destabilisation of prices. Despite substantial obstacles, Ukraine’s export potential is shown to remain significant degree preserved and continues to play an important role in maintaining global and European food security, whereas restrictive measures introduced by certain EU member states are identified as predominantly political rather than economically justified. The conducted analysis substantiates the urgent need for a comprehensive policy aimed at simultaneous price stabilisation, stimulation of domestic demand, improvement of financial support instruments. The practical significance of the research lies in formulating evidence-based recommendations that create favourable preconditions for the revival of the agro-industrial complex and the strengthening of national food security under conditions of prolonged crisis and subsequent post-war recovery.