At the beginning of March 2026, the agricultural land market in Ukraine crossed the symbolic milestone of one million hectares. It took four years and eight months to reach this mark, according to the State Service for Geodesy, Cartography, and Cadastre.
Since July 2021, when the sale and purchase of land were legalized in Ukraine, the average price of one hectare has almost doubled—rising 96% in hryvnia terms—and at the beginning of 2026 stood at around 64,600 UAH, or $1,501.
One million hectares represents 3% of the total agricultural land area and only 5.8% of previously moratoriumed land.
According to the State Geocadastre, this indicates that predictions of a mass land sell-off after the market opened did not materialize, but it confirms the gradual development of the market.
“The land market has never functioned under fully peaceful conditions due to the aggression against Ukraine, which means the volumes could have been significantly higher,” emphasized the agency head, Dmytro Makarenko.
In total, Ukraine has registered 334,000 agricultural land purchase and sale transactions. The highest activity was in Sumy (32,396 transactions), Poltava (31,478), and Vinnytsia (27,970) regions. The least interest was shown in Volyn (1,307 transactions), Rivne (1,352), and the frontline Zaporizhzhia (2,479) regions.
The law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Conditions of Circulation of Agricultural Land,” which lifted the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land in Ukraine, was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on March 31, 2020, and came into force on July 1, 2021.
The land reform envisioned two phases. In the first phase, from July 1, 2021, to January 1, 2024, only Ukrainian citizens had the right to purchase agricultural land, with a limit of up to 100 hectares per person.
Foreigners in Ukraine are prohibited from purchasing shares, equity stakes, or membership in legal entities (except for bank charter capital) that own agricultural land until Ukrainian citizens decide otherwise in a referendum. Russian companies and offshore entities will be banned from buying land in Ukraine regardless of the referendum outcome.
