Introduction. The article assesses the importance of agricultural production within the framework of a world-system concept, which is becoming increasingly relevant in the light of the acceleration of globalization processes. The development of foreign economic relations and trade has a positive effect on the agricultural production efficiency, but in order to prevent the raw materials formation only, it is necessary to look for new priorities.
The purpose of the article is substantiation of the agrarian production place in Ukraine within the framework of the world-system concept. Within the limits of the purpose achievement the following tasks are distinguished: to investigate peculiarities and essence of the world-system theory, the countries of the center (nucleus); evaluate the terms of trade in Ukrainian agri-food products; to determine priorities for the development of foreign trade in Ukrainian agri-food products.
Results. The index of agricultural exports diversification of Ukraine during the analyzed period worsened - the share of grain in its structure in some years reached 40 %. This testifies to its exceptional raw material orientation. Unlike food or feed grains, such export products as seed products, tree saplings, breeding cattle of high-yielding breeds, dairy products, flour and other semi-finished products and finished foods have a higher level of added value and therefore better price positions in the foreign market. With an increase in the share of such commodities in the structure of agricultural food exports, terms of trade improve, and vice versa. The predominance of such goods in the country's export testifies to high-tech agro-food production, focus on closed production cycle. The dominance in the export structure of Ukrainian agricultural products of food and feed grain indicates the breaking of technological chains in the national agro-industrial complex, the degradation of varietal and breeding business, the decline of livestock industries and so on.
Conclusions. Within the framework of the world-system concept, which is becoming increasingly relevant in the acceleration light of globalization processes, Ukraine is deliberately consolidating the status of the country of the peripheral zone. To avoid this prospect, you must: 1) to change the structure of agro-food products export - to reduce the share of grain, seeds of oilseeds (rapeseed) and to increase the share of products with relatively higher added value. These are seed products, high-quality breeding cattle, tree and shrub saplings, primary processing meat, meat and dairy products, prepared foods, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and more. What, first of all, requires stabilization and transition to the cattle population growth, pigs, restoration of domestic breeding and breeding business, modern high-tech seed production, etc.; 2) to bring to the European standards the conditions of supply of dairy and meat raw materials; 3) to increase the capacities of the domestic market for agricultural and food products. Which needs to stimulate demand.
Keywords: agrarian production, sustainable development, world-system concept, food security, foreign trade, production efficiency.
Sources of high-tech export growth in the macroregion