Ukraine and the European Union have reached a final agreement on updating the trade section of the Association Agreement, expanding EU market access opportunities for Ukrainian agricultural producers.
Under this agreement, Ukrainian agri-food products received increased duty-free quotas for key goods, reports the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club.
The largest growth in duty-free quotas compared to 2021 was recorded for:
- Honey: quota increased by 483% — from 6,000 to 35,000 tons;
- Sugar: white sugar quota increased by 400% — from 20,000 to 100,000 tons;
- Skimmed milk powder: quota increased by 208% — from 5,000 to 15,400 tons;
- Eggs: quota doubled — from 6,000 to 18,000 tons;
- Poultry meat: quota increased by 33% — from 90,000 to 120,000 tons.
Significant increases were also noted for processed products, such as bran and its residues (up 405%, from 21,000 to 85,000 tons) and barley grits and meal (up 423%, from 7,800 to 33,200 tons).
The agreement also introduces full trade liberalization for less sensitive products, meaning tariff quotas are removed for items like mushrooms, fermented milk, processed milk and cream, and food preparations.
New dedicated quotas have been introduced for certain products, allowing them to have separate duty-free allocations instead of being counted within broader raw-material quotas. For example, flour made from wheat, barley, and corn now has its own quota, whereas previously its export counted against the general quotas for wheat, corn, and barley.
“This innovation will encourage the export of higher value-added products. Exporters can now ship not only 1.3 million tons of wheat duty-free to the EU but also an additional 30,000 tons of flour,” Ukrainian Agribusiness Club emphasized.
Since the updated agreement balances the interests of both sides, Ukraine will also increase quotas for European goods, including pork (from 20,000 to 45,000 tons), poultry (from 20,000 to 120,000 tons), and sugar (from 40,000 to 100,000 tons). This is expected to deepen mutual trade relations.
