Epicentr K to buy farmland after launch of land market in Ukraine
20 May 2020
Epicentr K, a Ukraine-based agroholding, plans to buy farmland after moratorium on farmland sales in Ukraine is lifted. The company has started negotiating respective deals with potential creditors after the law on farmland sales was adopted. To secure future loans, the company is heavily investing in constructing new and renovating existing grain elevators. So far, Epicentr K operates 160,000 hectares of farmland and eight grain elevators. In the mid-term perspective, the company wants to focus on processing.
After several postponements, the launch of a full-fledged land market has been rescheduled from late 2019 to July 2021. However, the law on farmland sales provides for a number of restrictions. In 2021, land operations will become available for individuals/natural persons only, and they will be able to purchase or sell not more than 100 hectares of farmland per person. The legal entities will get access to land market starting January 2024, with a limit on land ownership of not more than 10,000 hectares per enterprise. The moratorium on farmland sales has been in effect since 2001 in Ukraine.