EU prepares to increase quotas for agricultural imports from Ukraine

The European Union and Ukraine are negotiating a new agreement that will set quotas for agricultural imports from Ukraine, quotas that will be "somewhere between" current levels and temporary exemptions granted to Ukraine in 2022, after the start of the Russian invasion, European Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen said on Friday, as quoted by Reuters.

The European Union temporarily suspended tariffs and quotas on agricultural products from Ukraine after the Russian invasion that began in 2022, but this system expired on June 5, 2025.

As of Friday, Ukraine returned to the quota regime that existed before the war, while the parties negotiate a new long-term agreement, within which Brussels wants to reach a balance between supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia, and respecting European farmers concerned about the influx of cheap imports from Ukraine, notes Agerpres.

"What will be negotiated will be something between the quotas provided for in the current DCFTA and autonomous trade measures," Hansen said.

DCFTA (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area EU-Ukraine) refers to the trade agreement that existed between Ukraine and the EU before the war. The "autonomous trade measures” refer to the EU's decision to temporarily suspend quotas on Ukrainian imports from 2022.

Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Vitaliy Koval said in recent days that Kiev would push for a deal with the EU that would include better conditions than before the war. "There will definitely be quotas, we hope it will be an increase in quotas compared to 2021,” the Ukrainian agriculture minister said.

European farmers complain that large imports of cheap sugar from Ukraine, allowed under exemptions granted by Brussels, are hurting domestic production. Over the past year, in response to the surge in imports, the EU has triggered "emergency brakes” or reintroduced quotas on various products such as sugar and eggs.

Ukrainian sugar imports to the EU have risen to 400,000 tonnes in the 2022/2023 season and over 500,000 tonnes in the 2023/2024 season, far exceeding the pre-war quota of 20,000 tonnes.

Hansen said the new sugar quotas would be "significantly higher” than those set out in the pre-war agreements. "I think we can absorb a certain amount of these products,” the European commissioner said, adding that there were some sensitivities when it came to sugar, poultry and eggs.

Negotiations for a new EU-Ukraine deal began on June 2. Hansen said it was feasible to conclude a deal by the summer.

Agricultural products accounted for 60% of Ukraine's exports, which last year were worth $41.6 billion, and the European Union bought about 60% of these products, worth about $15 billion.