Food trade turnover between EU and Ukraine decreased at the expense of Ukrainian exports
The decline was due to a decrease in exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU countries. Despite the decrease in trade turnover, the foreign trade balance for Ukraine remained positive, but the surplus decreased to $5.9bn.
At the same time, imports of agricultural products from the EU increased. In 2025, Ukraine purchased food products worth $4.9 billion, which is almost 15% more than a year earlier. The deputy director of the National Scientific Center “Institute of Agrarian Economy”, academician of the National Academy of Sciences Mykola Puhachyov, told latifundist.com.
Ukraine spent the most money on imports of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages – $514m; food products, extracts and concentrates – $429m; animal feed – $397m; cocoa and chocolate products – $394m; tobacco products – $384m.
Dairy products also accounted for a notable share of imports – $324 million, up 17% from 2024. The main category in this group remained cheese, which was purchased for $270 mln. An important import item is finished grain products, totaling $304 mln.
Ukraine’s main trading partners among EU countries in 2025 were Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, France, Romania and Belgium. These countries accounted for about 80% of Ukraine’s total agri-food cargo transportation with the European Union.
According to the forecasts of the Institute of Agrarian Economics, in 2026, EU countries will continue to occupy leading positions in the structure of food imports to Ukraine.
