Ukraine: farmland market law adopted
31 March 2020
The Parliament of Ukraine has adopted the law on farmland sales which is to be in effect starting July 2021. The law 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. In addition, the decision on whether to allow foreign market players to buy Ukrainian farmland is expected to be made based on the results of the national referendum. The law does not provide for the timeline to hold such a referendum.
Earlier, the launch of a full-fledged land market was planned for late 2020 but was rescheduled due to the outbreak of Covid-19. The moratorium on land sales is considered as one of the main drivers of the proliferation of large-scale farms in Ukraine due to lease-based accumulation of vast land areas in hands of so-called agroholdings.