Ukraine and Poland have overtaken the Netherlands to become the largest suppliers of eggs to the UK in 2025, prompting criticism of imports of “cage” eggs, which have been banned in the UK since 2012. This was reported by The Guardian newspaper.
According to the UK’s Animal and Plant Health Agency, Ukraine has exported 8 million kg of eggs to the country since the beginning of the year, Poland has exported almost 7 million kg, and Spain has exported about 5 million kg.
Despite the overall decline in tonnage, the number of shipments has increased — instead of large batches, many small batches began to be exported from countries where cage farming is still common.
Mark Williams, chairman of the British Egg Industry Council, said that British producers are at a disadvantage because they have to invest in stricter standards for keeping birds. At the same time, imported eggs from Ukraine and Poland come from systems that are banned in the UK. He called this “morally wrong” and called on the government to take measures to protect the domestic market.
Egg imports are mostly destined for the catering and food industry segments, rather than supermarkets (where British Lion-labeled eggs dominate). It is estimated that the UK produces about 88% of its own eggs, importing the remaining 12%.
The British government has stated that it is involved in working on new regulations to level the playing field for domestic producers. At the same time, tariff exemptions for Ukraine were extended for many goods after the start of the war, but the “eggs and poultry” category received only a short-term deferral.
Source: https://open4business.com.ua/ukrayina-stala-najbilshym-postachalnykom-yayecz-do-velykoyi-brytaniyi/
In January-August 2025, Ukraine exported nearly 1.4 billion eggs worth $119.5 million, which is 2.6 times more than in the same period of 2024, according to the Ukrainian Poultry Union.
The industry association noted that in August, Ukrainian producers exported 168.2 million eggs worth a total of $16.4 million, which is 81.9% more than in the same period of 2024.
The main buyers of Ukrainian eggs in January-August 2025 were Spain (11% of total exports), Croatia (10.9%), and the United Kingdom (10.6%).
The largest shipments in August were to Spain (37.1 million eggs), the Czech Republic (28.9 million eggs), and Poland (21.7 million eggs).
Ukraine has the potential to expand bilateral agricultural trade with the US, particularly in the export of meat, eggs, corn, and queen bees, according to the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection following a working visit to the US by the agency’s head, Serhiy Tkachuk.
The State Service noted that during the visit, Tkachuk held meetings with representatives of three departments of the US Department of Agriculture.
Together with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the parties discussed increasing bilateral trade in agricultural products. Ukraine has the potential to replace Russian and Chinese products on the American market, the agency assured. Particular attention was paid to opening the US market for Ukrainian poultry and eggs.
Negotiations with the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) focused on access to the US market for Ukrainian poultry meat and eggs. The State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection has already provided all the necessary information and expressed its readiness to undergo inspections, including online. This practice has been successfully applied in cooperation with the United Kingdom, Canada, and the EU.
The Ukrainian side emphasized the importance of moving forward with applications for the export of pork and beef, and the FSIS confirmed its readiness to begin technical consultations.
The meeting with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) was devoted to the epizootic situation, the procedure for assessing the status of diseases, and inspections.
In addition, the meetings discussed the prospects for exporting Ukrainian corn and queen bees. The American side positively assessed the dynamics regarding corn and promised to consider the issue of bees in the near future.
“These dialogues confirm that even in times of war, the Ukrainian agricultural sector remains a reliable and promising partner. We feel the support of our American colleagues and their willingness to move forward in opening up new opportunities for Ukraine,” concluded the head of the State Food and Consumer Service.
Ukrainian producers exported chicken eggs worth $103.1 million in January-July 2025, which is 2.6 times more than in the same period last year, according to the Ukrainian Poultry Farmers Union, citing data from the State Customs Service.
The industry association specified that in July this year, 190.6 million eggs worth $17 million were exported, which exceeded the figure a year ago by 86%.
The top three importers of Ukrainian chicken eggs in July 2025 were Spain (21.5 million eggs), the United Kingdom (21.4 million eggs), and Poland (22.7 million eggs).
According to the Ukrainian Poultry Farmers Union, the main buyers of Ukrainian eggs in January-July were Croatia (11.8%), the United Kingdom (10.6%), and Spain (9.5%).
Romania has expanded the list of goods imported from Ukraine that require a license to enter the country to include eggs and poultry meat, Euractiv.ro reported, citing information from the Romanian government. The publication reminded that Romanian poultry producers faced a “serious problem” due to the import of eggs and poultry meat from Ukraine, which are sold at prices significantly lower than the cost of production in Romania.
According to the Minister of Agriculture Florin Barbu, after discussions with representatives of the poultry industry, the government decided to add eggs and poultry meat to the list of products that can be imported from Ukraine only with a license. The list also includes cereals, seeds, flour and sugar.
“It is our duty to protect Romanian production,” Barbu said.
In addition, he reminded that Romania, as a member of the European Union, must comply with certain production requirements in the poultry sector, which is why Romanian poultry farmers have “30% higher costs than in Ukraine.”
Barbu also emphasized that there is no ban on imports of Ukrainian eggs and poultry meat.
“We have made this decision on licensing to ensure that when the food industry needs these products and Romania is not completely self-sufficient, only Romanian processors will be able to import them under license,” he added.
After the European Commission decided not to extend the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain to five neighboring EU countries (Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary) in September 2023, Romania introduced import licenses for grains and oilseeds from Ukraine and Moldova. This measure, introduced in October last year, was extended.
According to this decision, only Romanian companies engaged in the production of oil and fat products, flour milling, animal feed production and livestock farming are entitled to import agricultural products from Ukraine and Moldova.
The Eastern Interregional Main Department of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection has announced the introduction of restrictions on imports of hatching eggs, poultry and poultry products from the Republic of Poland to Ukraine due to the registration of Newcastle disease in the country, the press service of the agency said.
According to the order of the Chief State Veterinary Inspector of Ukraine dated July 13, 2023, the ban does not apply to products that have been treated by a method that guarantees the destruction of the causative agent of this disease according to the requirements for the import (transfer) to the customs territory of Ukraine of food products of animal origin, feed, hay, straw, as well as by-products of animal origin and products of their processing, processing, approved by the order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food № 553 of November 16, 2018 year
Newcastle disease is known as pseudoplague of birds, or Asian plague – a contagious and fatal viral disease affecting all types of birds (chickens, pigeons, turkey, etc.). One of the most contagious poultry diseases in the world, caused by a virus of the Paramyxoviridae family, in which many birds die without showing any symptoms. Pseudorabies plague can cause death even in vaccinated poultry.
According to Polish media reports, the disease was detected for the first time in 50 years at a poultry farm in Bialystok district, where 43.41 thousand chickens are kept for slaughter.
