Epicentr Agro Launches Sugar Beet Production, Debuts in Western Ukraine

Epicentr Agro, the agricultural division of Ukraine’s largest home improvement chain Epicentr K group, has introduced sugar beets into the crop rotation of its western cluster for the first time in the company’s history.

In 2026, the holding allocated 533 hectares (1,317 acres) for the crop, with plans to expand this area to 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) annually in the coming years, Ukrainian outlet Pershy Podilsky announced.

The company emphasized that the move is not an experiment but a strategic step toward production diversification.

According to Pershy Podilsky, while corn, sunflower, winter wheat, and rapeseed remain the primary crops for the region, the western cluster was specifically chosen for sugar beet cultivation due to its superior soil moisture reserves.

The expansion comes as Ukraine’s sugar beet campaign shows significant momentum. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture, sugar beets have been sown across 162,800 hectares (402,288 acres) nationwide by the end of April, reaching 83% of the projected area.

However, cultivating this crop presents specific challenges. Epicentr Agro identified weather conditions during sowing, soil crusting, and early-stage weed infestation as primary risks. To mitigate these, Pershy Podilsky said that Epicentr Agro implemented weed control through multiple herbicide treatments.

Epicentr Agro consolidates the agricultural assets of the Epicentr K group and operates under a holding model. The company manages 167,000 hectares (412,665 acres) of land across the Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Zhytomyr regions.

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On its website, Epicentr Agro said its infrastructure is among the most robust in Ukraine’s agro-sector, featuring 16 elevators with a total storage capacity exceeding 1.8 million tons, 11 dairy farms, a modern agrochemical laboratory for soil analysis, a certified seed plant and a private fleet of 133 grain trucks and 50 oil tankers.