DEVELOPMENT OF BIOENERGY AS A PRIORITY DIRECTION OF GRAIN MARKET ACTIVATION IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article examines the role and importance of bioenergetics as a priority area of the grain market activation, outlines its state and problems, identifies approaches of its development considering current challenges and demands. The need to develop bioenergetics is associated with the rapid growth of the production of grain and grain-legume crops, which generates additional challenges and problems. It is worth noting among these: intensification of competition in global markets; reduction of the world prices and, consequently, the decrease in export revenues; lack of capacity and warehouses for reliable storage and high-quality processing of grain and their obsolescence; low logistical capacity of domestic ports and railway transport; limited distribution channels; increasing unemployment in rural areas due to the application of modern innovative agricultural technologies with high productivity; low capacity of processing plants; deformation of traditional production chains. This research clarifies the role of bioenergetics as a priority area for activation of the grain market, outlines its state and problems, and identifies the approaches to its development considering current challenges and demands. The greatest threats to the implementation of plans concerning the development of biofuel technologies in Ukraine are the following: 1) steady tendency towards a decrease in energy prices on the world market is the risk of the unprofitability of biofuel technologies; 2) unstable tax legislation poses financial investment risks; 3) non-market prices for competing fuels for the population (in particular, electricity and gas) results in the lack of population’s incentive to turn to alternative energy sources; 4) lack of sufficient capacity to store the required volumes of guaranteed sources of raw materials; 5) shortcomings in effective mechanisms to stimulate renewable energy, etc. Elimination and overcoming of the above-mentioned barriers will intensify biomass involvement in country’s energy balance and contribute significantly to strengthening Ukraine’s energy independence. Thus, in the near future, it is necessary to solve all the problems that hinder bioenergy development, which intensifies the progress of the grain market and directly affects the energy independence of our country.