Prospects for the Development of Small Agricultural Business Entities in the Market Environment

One of the promising areas for creating a competitive market environment is the development of small businesses. Small businesses need to increase their competitive advantage over other market participants in order not to lose their place in the economic system, especially in a pandemic, while becoming drivers of economic growth. The purpose of the study is to examine the factors influencing the behaviour of small businesses in the market environment during the epidemic by understanding the existing problems and strategic orientations of their activities. The article forecasts the number of small agricultural business entities in order to understand the problems and prospects for development in a market environment (using retrospective and statistical research methods); the directions of support for exporters of agricultural products have been given; the change in the dynamics of goods export by small enterprises has been analyzed (using the methods of economic and mathematical modelling), the level of social responsibility of agrarian business entities as a necessary element for the implementation of export operations in foreign markets (with a built self-organizing map). It has been proven that small business entities have a basic level of social responsibility, but in order to strengthen their competitive position and the need to enter foreign markets, enterprises need to improve to a sufficient level. It has been found that problematic factors for exports need to be addressed, namely: access to trade finance, inappropriate production technologies, identification of potential markets and buyers; technical requirements and standards. It has been substantiated that it is necessary to strengthen the assistance of small enterprises in access to information, implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation, taking into account the interests of small enterprises, their involvement in regulatory activities in the field of trade.