The article conducts a theoretical study of the concept of the mechanism and nature of the shadow economy in the agro-industrial production of Ukraine. The shadow economy exists in all countries of the world and, depending on its size, creates problems of varying complexity: from non-payment of taxes to destructive processes in the economic system. Today, the existence of a shadow economy in agro-industrial production is a very urgent problem for Ukraine. The existence of this phenomenon is facilitated by a whole complex of reasons of a different nature, therefore, the fight against it should also include measures of various directions and be carried out at the national level. The factors contributing to the spread of the shadow economy in agro-industrial production, such as insufficient control efficiency, complex tax procedures, a low level of legal culture, etc., are analyzed. The author offers a vision of the concept of the mechanism in agro-industrial production as an economic mechanism, which is a complex of practical measures, tools, regulatory means, incentives, and resources used by management bodies to influence society and production. The shadow economy should be understood as a set of social, economic, and legal relations between individuals, groups of individuals, and institutional units in relation to the production, distribution, redistribution, exchange, and consumption of material goods and services, types of economic activity of economic entities, the results of which, for various reasons, are not taken into account, are not controlled, and are not taxed by the state and (or) are aimed at obtaining income by violating the current legislation. Conventionally, two approaches used by scientists in the study of the shadow economy can be distinguished. The first one defines the shadow economy as a set of forms or relations that are characteristic of the economy and oppose the state and legal market segments, i.e. the shadow economy is an interweaving of legal, semi-legal, and illegal connections. This approach is currently the most popular. The second approach is focused on the study of entities involved in shadow activities and practices of everyday economic activity. The main aspects of the shadow economy in agro-industrial production are outlined. 

mechanism, agro-industrial production, shadow economy, economic entities, government apparatus