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Crimea - Perfect for Agricultural Land Investment

Agriculture is the most important industry in the Crimea Peninsula. Home to 1.79 million hectares of rich fertile land, this part of Ukraine is perfect for investment in soft commodities.

The Crimea Peninsula lies along the northern coast of the Black Sea and the western side of the Sea of Azor. Crimea is famous for its beautiful mountain and coastal scenery as well as its vast stretches of fertile agricultural lands, often likened to the North American prairies.

This part of Ukraine forms an essential part of European history - the Crimean War and some of the bloodiest battles of World War II were fought here. Since then, this part of Eastern Europe has been popular with Russian and Eastern European holidaymakers for years and now, Crimea is just starting to make its mark on the European tourism circuit.

Although tourism is a vital source of income for this area of Ukraine, the rich agricultural land is Crimea's mainstay. As a destination for investment in agricultural land, Crimea presents several attractions. First and foremost comes its highly-fertile soil - like a large part of Ukraine land, Crimean fields are rich in chernozems making them among the most fertile in the world. Crimea's continental climate with sunny, warm summers and cool, wet winters is the ideal compliment for the fertile, black soil.

On the labour side of investment in agriculture, Crimea has a large pool of inexpensive and qualified labour resources. And although like a lot of Ukraine land, agricultural methods are still in the catch-up phase to become fully modernised, Crimea does have good storage facilities for harvested crops, essential for ensuring maximum yields from agricultural production.

In addition, this part of Ukraine enjoys an exceptional geographical location. Crimea is strategically placed with easy reach of several giant export markets - the EU, the Commonwealth of Independent States (mostly the former USSR) and Asia. Bringing this strategic position to full advantage is Crimea's excellent transport network. The Peninsula has good motorways and railways and several large sea ports, headed by the largest at Yalta.
Crimea attracts plenty of foreign direct investment (FDI). As one of the top ten foreign investment areas in Ukraine, FDI inflows in Crimea totalled US$637.6 million at the end of last year when the UK was Crimea's biggest foreign investor.

The leasing of agricultural land for soft commodity investment has received a fair share of FDI. Investors already in Crimea have seen excellent results from this autumn's harvest. From January to September this year, Crimea sold 551,600 tonnes of grain, a 5.3% year-on-year increase. As well as a similar grain harvest to last year, Crimea has also produced 19,500 tonnes of sunflower, 21,400 tonnes of soybean and 92,000 tonnes of rice. In anticipation of another bumper harvest next year, Crimean farmers have sown 527,000 hectares with winter crops.

We at Obelisk believe that within Ukraine's generally excellent potential for investment in agricultural land, farmland in Crimea is an ideal choice. This year's harvest has already shown the potential for high gains and these can only increase as the full capacity of Ukraine land is exploited.

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