TRANSFORMATION OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR OF UKRAINE IN THE CONDITIONS OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION WITH THE EU

Abstract

Ukraine’s European integration trajectory is significantly changing the configuration of the agricultural sector, combining regulatory adaptation to EU norms with deep structural shifts in production, processing, and distribution channels. The conditions of the war period have exacerbated asymmetries in access to investments, logistics infrastructure, and compliance tools, which has increased the unevenness of transformation between large integrated companies and small and medium-sized producers. There is a need to coordinate institutional solutions that synchronize regulatory requirements with the development of processing, cooperation, and clusters capable of retaining added value in the national economy. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the directions of transformation of the structure of the agricultural sector of Ukraine in the context of economic integration with the EU, taking into account regulatory changes, wartime restrictions, and the redistribution of added value along agri-food chains. The methodological basis is the institutional analysis of regulatory adaptation, comparative analysis of structural shifts in EU countries, analysis of value chains and generalization of research results with formulation of recommendations in the agricultural sector. The results of the study show that harmonization with EU requirements accelerates concentration and vertical integration, while at the same time restraining the inclusion of small producers in the absence of financial and institutional compensators. Integration into EU markets has shifted the emphasis towards export specialization with the advantage of raw material flows, which limits the growth of domestic added value in the context of a deficit of investment in processing and logistics. Military risks have increased the volatility of production and the redistribution of risks in favor of intermediary links. The feasibility of the package application of processing modernization tools, institutional strengthening of cooperation and cluster development as complementary mechanisms for increasing the sector’s resilience is substantiated. The conclusions are drawn that the effects of economic integration with the EU for the agricultural sector become sustainable and positive only if regulatory changes are synchronized with investments in processing and the development of inclusive institutions capable of reducing transaction costs and ensuring the retention of added value in the national economy.