evaluation of the matrix of paired correlation coefficients between the factors using the Farrar-Glauber test showed that there is multicollinearity between the independent characteristics, therefore they can not simultaneously enter into an adequate linear regression model. To study the influence of selected indicators on consumption volumes, multiplicative regression was used and the relative influence of each factor on the dependent variable was estimated with the help of elasticity coefficients. The calculated elasticity coefficients of the volume of food consumption at sales prices have negative values, which corresponds to their economic sense.

Introduction. The active movement of Ukraine towards integration into the world economy, the liberalization of customs regimes, the expansion of sales markets and the introduction of innovations have created new prospects for the progress of the production of exports-oriented agricultural products. Foreign economic activity plays a significant role in the economy of the country, affects its internal dynamics and competitiveness, so the research of trends in the formation of commodity exports are of current importance.  Aim and tasks. The aim of the article is to research the dynamics of progress and the current state of the agricultural sector of the economy of Ukraine in the field of crop production, the contribution to it of the main categories of farms and the role of the agricultural sector in the formation of the exports potential of the country. For the solvation of this problem, a number of statistical materials, scientific publications and Internet resources on the indicators of production activities of agricultural enterprises were used, the methods of mathematical statistics and economic and mathematical modeling were applied. Results. The conducted researches allowed to evaluate the contribution of the main categories of farms to crop production in 2010-2017. To estimate the distribution of land between agricultural enterprises the Lorenz curve was constructed, the Gini coefficient and the Hoover index were calculated. Calculations showed that 81.5% of enterprises had 13.4% of the total land area,  and in order to achieve an equal distribution of land between enterprises, it is necessary to redistribute 68% of the land areas. It has been established that in the agricultural sector of Ukraine there is a polarization in the production of agricultural products – small-scale forms of management dominate in the production of labor-intensive and low-income goods, while products of powerful agricultural enterprises have a high yield and low labor intensity. One of the leading places in crop production is the cultivation of sunflower due to its high profitability. Linear and multiplicative regression models of dependence of the volume of sunflower production. It was determined that high levels in the structure of commodity exports of Ukraine belong to sunflower oil, wheat, corn, barley, rapeseed and soybeans, and it was noted the important role of agricultural holdings in forming the exports potential. Conclusions. Agricultural enterprises, in particular, holdings, which have more opportunities than households for increasing their production through the introduction of innovations and the scale of production play a growing role in the production of agricultural products . Ukraine makes a significant contribution to global food security, but its position in the world markets as a producer and supplier of raw materials is fixed. Exports of goods with a low level of added value largely depend on fluctuations in world prices, which contributes to the sensitivity of the domestic economy to external negative trends, therefore, Ukrainian commodity exports need to diversify and increase the share of high technological value added goods.

The article deals with the main aspects of the stages of development and construction of an optimization of the economic and mathematical model of agricultural enterprises' resources for identifying reserves of resource potential, its rational use and increase of the economic efficiency of economic activity. Some economic indicators of functioning and development of agricultural enterprises that can be taken into account when compiling an optimization model are analysed. The basic stages of construction of the economic and mathematical model and their characteristic features are revealed. Applied testing of mathematical calculations has been carried out for the agricultural enterprise LLC UM-Vatutino, which wants to optimize the structure of its production in order to ensure maximum overall profitability. The developed economic and mathematical model provides the main activities of the UM-Vatutino LLC. They are the cultivation of grain and forage crops, cows of various productivity. Such a model can be used to analyse and identify the reserves of resource potential of enterprises of any form of ownership, at different periods of time, as well as to identify features of strategies for improving the economic efficiency of economic activity of the enterprise itself and its individual units. In addition, the constructed model can be modified both structurally and substantively. The analysis results are processed by means of one of the office programs of Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheets. Data analysis has been performed with the use of the "Solver" tool in spreadsheets. It allows finding an optimization solution with a large number of variables. As a result, it has been confirmed that the application of economic and mathematical methods is very effective in assessing not only the resource potential of agricultural enterprises, but also optimizing the volumes of sales of products, feeds, raw materials for another. The process of modelling in the activities of agricultural enterprises gives the opportunity to make managerial decisions at various stages of the operation and development of the enterprise.

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to analyze the contribution of agricultural enterprises and households to Ukrainian agrarian production, to determine the place of agricultural holdings in its formation and to indicate the role of the agricultural sector in Ukrainian exports. Methodology / approach. The methodological research tool is an economic analysis of the activities of business entities. The statistical data of the main indicators of the production activities of agricultural enterprises is being used as empirical information. In the process of research, the following methods of economic analysis were used: formalized – a graphical method, percentage numbers, methods of mathematical statistics; non-formalized – expert assessment, comparison, analytical tables. Results. An estimation of the dynamics of agricultural output in the basic categories of farms in 2010–2017 was made, the share of the basic categories of farms in the crop and livestock production was determined.  It is noted that in the agrarian sector of Ukraine there has been a polarization in the production of agricultural products – self-employed small-scale forms of management dominate the production of labor-intensive and low-profitable products, while large industrial high-quality agricultural enterprises are highly profitable and low labor-intensive. Researches have shown that one of the leading places in the crop production is sunflower cultivation due to its high profitability. In the example of sunflower production shows the possibilities of economic and mathematical modeling as a tool for evaluating production efficiency and forecasting. The place of the agrarian sector in the structure of Ukraine’s commodity exports in 2017 has been analyzed. It was shown that an important place in the Ukrainian agro-industrial complex is occupied by agricultural holdings, which, in particular, are very significant in the formation of Ukrainian exports of cereals and oil plants. Originality / scientific novelty. Trends and the current state of the agro-industrial sector of Ukraine researches have been further developed. A comparative evaluation of the effectiveness and contribution of the basic categories of farms to the agricultural production at the present stage was made. For the first time, economic and mathematical models for the analysis of the main indicators of sunflower cultivation have been proposed. Practical value / implications. The growing role of agricultural enterprises, in particular, agricultural holdings, in the development of the agro-industrial complex is shown, the place of Ukrainian agricultural products in the world food market is defined and the importance of diversification Ukrainian exports is pointed out. The established trend lines of sunflower cultivation indicators made it possible to calculate the corresponding short-term forecasts, which can be taken into account when justifying alternatives for the future development of agricultural enterprises.

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