Following the introduction of stricter criteria for critically important enterprises, the number of agricultural companies potentially eligible for this status could decline by nearly 44%. This conclusion comes from an analysis by VKURSI Market BI, which evaluated businesses against the updated requirements for land area and annual revenue. The study assesses potential eligibility only and does not reflect the number of companies that have already obtained critical enterprise status.
Under the revised rules, the minimum cultivated land requirement has increased from 500 to 1,000 hectares, while the minimum annual revenue threshold has doubled from UAH 20 million to UAH 40 million. Based on these changes, the number of companies potentially meeting the criteria falls from 5,102 to 2,867, meaning approximately 2,235 agricultural enterprises could lose eligibility solely because of the tougher thresholds.
The analysis also shows that 4,305 agricultural companies operate land banks exceeding 1,000 hectares. The highest concentration of such businesses is found in the Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kirovohrad regions. However, land area and revenue are only part of the qualification process, and companies must also satisfy additional legal requirements to obtain or retain critical enterprise status.
According to industry experts, the tighter requirements may make employee reservation more difficult for a significant share of medium-sized agricultural businesses. At the same time, the revised framework is intended to ensure that the status of critically important enterprises is granted more selectively. Agricultural companies are therefore advised to review their compliance with the updated criteria and prepare the necessary documentation well before the re-certification deadline.