Structural and Functional Features of the Development of the Vegetable Market in Ukraine

The article reveals the multidimensional content of the vegetable market as a key segment of the agricultural sector of Ukraine, which plays an important role in ensuring food security, forming the domestic consumer market and strengthening the positions of agricultural producers. The economic essence and functional significance of the vegetable market are substantiated, its multifunctionality is emphasized: production, regional, price, logistics, social. The vegetable market is considered as an open system that is under the influence of market fluctuations, institutional factors and environmental transformations. Special attention is paid to the classification of vegetable products according to agrobiological, seasonal, technological and marketing characteristics, which allows us to distinguish its specificity as a product of the agricultural market. It was emphasized that in the current conditions of socio-economic transformations, the strategic directions for improving the infrastructure, regulation and effective functioning of the vegetable segment of the agricultural market of Ukraine are: development of logistics and sales infrastructure (cold chains, vegetable storage facilities, logistics hubs), stimulation of cooperation of small producers to strengthen their market positions, introduction of transparent mechanisms of state support and subsidies, digitalization of accounting and sales processes, as well as formation of an effective regulatory framework that adapts to the challenges of climate change, integration into international markets and the need to ensure food security. A methodology for assessing the functional characteristics of the vegetable market has been developed, which is based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative indicators (production structure, concentration level, logistics infrastructure, innovation level, degree of state support, etc.). The proposed approach allows for a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of the functioning of the vegetable market, identifying imbalances between its structural components and justifying the priorities of its further development in the context of the postcrisis transformation of the Ukrainian economy.