In February 2025, Ukraine imported 963 tons of pork, which is three times more than in January of this year, according to the Ukrainian Pig Association (UPA).
“The revival of import activity took place against the backdrop of an unconventional increase in purchase prices for the season. Instead, the average price of a kilogram of imported meat raw materials was lower than the minimum price level of last year, which was recorded in January – $1.89 per 1 kg and $1.92 per 1 kg at the end of winter,” analysts said.
According to their information, the products imported to Ukraine do not compete with Ukrainian pork, so imports still do not affect prices.
“Since the domestic supply of pork this year is less than the previous year, during the period of increased demand for meat in spring and summer, imports may increase, and the range of such products will be more diverse. For example, if prices in European markets, where we import the lion’s share of pork, decline while prices in Ukraine remain high, it will be economically justified to import cheaper raw materials. In this case, the pressure on the domestic market and its pricing from imports will increase, but we are not seeing this yet,” the industry association said.
Although February imports are the largest in the last 14 months, according to representatives of the meat industry, its presence on the market is still almost imperceptible, experts say.
In January and February 2025, pork exports remained at least 292 tons per month, so the total for the first two months amounted to 587.4 tons, or $1.6 million in monetary terms.
At the same time, the geography of foreign trade in Ukrainian pork remains limited. The main buyer countries for Ukrainian pork are Hong Kong, where 30% of external shipments were sent, the UAE – 22%, Malaysia and Georgia – 13% and 10%, respectively. The remaining Ukrainian pork was exported in small volumes to Bahrain, Liberia, and South Korea.
In the first 2 months of 2025, Ukraine imported nearly $345 million worth of power generating sets, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine.
This is 706% more than in the same period in 2024. In monetary terms, the difference is $302 million.
At the same time, 93% of all imported units were eligible for customs duty exemptions.
In February 2025, Ukraine increased electricity imports by 33% to 244.2 thousand MWh compared to January and reduced exports by 61% to 33.1 thousand MWh, Ukrainian energy and climate think tank DiXi Group reported citing Energy map.
According to its post on Facebook on Wednesday, the total volume of imports exceeded exports by more than 7 times over the month.
Out of 33.1 thousand MWh of exports, the largest share went to Moldova – 15.5 thousand MWh (47%). Another 10 thousand MWh (30%) went to Hungary, 3.7 thousand MWh (11%) to Romania, 2.9 thousand MWh (9%) to Slovakia, and 1 thousand MWh (3%) to Poland.
DiXi Group experts note that during the last two decades of February, exports were almost non-existent due to a deficit in the power system as a result of massive Russian missile and drone strikes (February 1, 11 and 20), as well as a drop in air temperature.
On the contrary, imports in February, according to their data, increased, reaching 244.2 thousand MWh against 183.1 thousand MWh in January. Of this amount, 85.2 thousand MWh (35%) came from Hungary, 73.3 thousand MWh (30%) – from Slovakia, 46.3 thousand MWh (19%) – from Poland, 37.1 thousand MWh (15%) – from Romania, 2.3 thousand MWh (1%) – from Moldova.
The increase in imports was recorded in all available directions (from 34% to 80%), except for Poland, from which it decreased by 23%.
DiXi Group notes that compared to February 2024, when 84.1 thousand MWh were imported, imports have almost tripled.
India has officially extended the import permit for peas until May 31, 2025, which is a positive signal for Ukrainian farmers on the eve of the spring sowing campaign, the Ukrainian Pulses and Soybeans Association reported.
The industry association reminded that despite the traditional protectionist policy and restrictions on imports of agricultural products, India periodically opens temporary “import windows”, which are actively used by Ukrainian exporters of pulses.
“Almost all of 2024, a window of opportunity remained open for Ukrainian pea producers, as India, one of the world’s largest consumers of this crop, allowed duty-free imports. Such opportunities encourage farmers to increase their acreage, especially small and medium-sized businesses that are quick to respond to changes in market conditions,” said Antonina Skliarenko, President of the Ukrainian Bean and Soybean Association.
According to her, in 2025, the area under peas in Ukraine may increase by 15%, and in 2026, we can expect an even greater increase in production of this crop.
An additional factor that increases interest in growing peas is the finalization of the opening of the Chinese market for Ukrainian products and the signing of the relevant protocol on March 6, 2025.
“This is a historic event for the Ukrainian pea production, which opens up great export prospects. Given that China introduced a 100% duty on Canadian peas on March 7, Ukrainian producers are gaining a serious competitive advantage,” the head of the business association emphasized.
An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has been reported in Hungary, which has led to emergency measures in a number of countries. The authorities of the UK, Russia and Ukraine have already announced restrictions on imports of animals and animal products from Hungary to prevent the spread of the dangerous virus.
Today, Ukraine has imposed a ban on the import of animals susceptible to the foot-and-mouth disease virus, as well as raw materials and animal products from such animals. The State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection (SSUFSCP) explained that the measures were taken to avoid the introduction of the virus into the country. According to the agency, the source of infection can be not only infected animals, but also those in the incubation period. In addition, the virus is transmitted through products obtained from infected animals.
The competent authorities in each country continue to monitor the epizootic situation and are ready to introduce additional measures if necessary.
Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious viral disease that affects farm animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. It is characterized by the appearance of ulcers and blisters in the mouth, hooves and udders of animals, accompanied by fever and a sharp decline in productivity.
The disease is spread by airborne droplets, through feed, water, clothing and equipment, and can also be transmitted through animal products. Although foot-and-mouth disease is rarely transmitted to humans, it causes significant damage to agriculture, leading to massive livestock losses, strict quarantine measures, and serious economic losses. Due to the high contagiousness of the disease, international veterinary services closely monitor outbreaks and take strict measures to prevent its spread.
In February 2025, Ukraine increased the total volume of foreign trade in dairy products to $45.6 million, which is 8.5% more than in January 2025 ($42.0 million), but 16.4% lower than in December 2024 ($54.5 million), the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine reported.
According to the report, dairy exports in February 2025 amounted to $24.2 million and increased by 25% compared to January 2025 ($19.3 million) and by 51% compared to December 2024 ($16.0 million). The growth occurred in all commodity items, especially in milk and condensed cream (+0.91 thousand tons) and butter and milk fats (+0.25 thousand tons).
At the same time, 36% of the export structure was accounted for by milk and condensed cream, 30% by butter, and 20% by cheese.
Experts emphasized that such significant export volumes have not been recorded since October 2022.
Instead, import volumes continued to decline and became the lowest in the last six months: in February 2025, they amounted to $21.4 million and decreased by 6% compared to January 2025 ($22.7 million) and by 44% compared to December 2024 ($38.5 million). Moreover, the volume of cheese imports was standard, while the volume of fermented dairy products imports decreased by 14.5% compared to January.
The export-import balance in February 2025 was positive: ($2.8 million) – against $(-3.4) million in January 2025 and $(-22.6) million in December 2024.
Exports in value terms exceeded imports by 13% in February 2025 (0.85 times in January 2025, 0.41 times in December 2024).
