The number of companies that own significant land plots has noticeably decreased in Ukraine. As of now, 192 companies are registered that own over 100 hectares of land. Such data was published by the Opendatabot service, recording a clear trend towards a reduction in large land businesses.

For comparison, at the time of the opening of the land market in 2024, there were 283 companies with land banks of over 100 hectares in Ukraine. During 2024 alone, this list was reduced by 51 companies, and last year by another 40. As a result, the number of large landowner companies decreased by almost a third.

At the same time, the concentration of land owned by businesses remains high. Almost a third of all land owned by companies is concentrated in the hands of only the ten largest landowners. Together, these ten control 18,345 hectares. At the same time, even among the market leaders, there is significant unevenness: the largest landowner, the agricultural company Svitanok, has ten times more land than the company Kuyalnik, which closes the top 10.

Individual companies have experienced a sharp reduction in land banks. The absolute leader in the reduction of areas was the company Zemletreid: its land assets decreased from 3,161.47 hectares to 733.57 hectares, that is, almost four times. The company Agroforest reduced its land even more significantly - by 8.6 times, from 1,803.09 hectares to 210.44 hectares.

At the same time, a significant part of large agribusiness maintains the status quo. According to Opendatabot, 103 companies from the list of large landowners did not change the area of ​​their land plots at all, which indicates a cautious and wait-and-see strategy.

The reasons for the reduction in the number of large landowners lie in the general uncertainty caused by the war. The destruction of infrastructure, the complexity and duration of demining territories, as well as problems with logistics are holding businesses back from expanding land banks. This is noted by the deputy chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, Denys Marchuk.

According to him, today the agrarian business is increasingly choosing a mobility model, preferring land leasing instead of purchasing it. This approach allows companies to respond faster to risks and, if necessary, change regions of presence without significant financial losses.

The geography of registration of large landowners is also uneven. The largest number of such companies is registered in the Kyiv region — 38. Another 28 companies are registered in the Kirovohrad region, and the same number are registered in Kyiv itself. At the same time, there are no companies with large land banks in Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne and Chernivtsi regions.

Of particular note is the fact that some of the largest landowners are registered in territories affected by the war. In particular, 16 companies are registered in temporarily occupied territories. Another 4 companies are registered in zones of active hostilities, where state electronic information resources continue to operate, and 14 companies are in territories of possible hostilities.