As of August 1, 2025, Ukraine has exhausted its ability to export dry milk to the European Union, with butter and milk fats next in line, whose quotas will be exhausted in the third decade of August, according to Ekonomichna Pravda, citing information from the Ukrainian Dairy Industry Association (SMU).
“As of August 1, there is no possibility of exporting dry milk originating in Ukraine to the EU within the quotas. According to the European Commission, as of July 30, the quota (including volumes expected to be allocated) was more than 91% filled, with only about 0.28 thousand tons remaining out of a quota of 2.92 thousand tons,” the publication said.
According to the industry association, the volumes of dry milk already awaiting clearance at the EU border exceed the available quota. From August 1, it no longer makes economic sense to send consignments of dry milk to the EU – they will have to be returned.
Quotas for imports of butter and milk fats to the EU will last a little longer. Currently, they are already more than two-thirds full. If butter exports to the EU remain at the same level in the coming weeks, the quota could be filled by the beginning of the third decade of August.
“The changes have already affected milk prices in Ukraine: in the second half of July, they rose by more than 5%. The reason for this is an attempt by processors to make a profit before the quotas are exhausted. This market trend may change if Brussels does not take new decisions on quotas,” the SMU emphasized.
Bulgaria is interested in importing sunflower seeds, wheat, corn and milk powder from Ukraine, said Nikolay Nenchev, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Ukraine, during a meeting with Taras Vysotsky, acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, Nikolay Nenchev assured that Bulgaria is ready to continue to help and cooperate with Ukraine, to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products to the country’s seaports.
Vysotsky, for his part, noted that Ukraine highly appreciates cooperation with Bulgaria and its assistance in exporting agricultural products.
“Ukraine and Bulgaria have always had a constructive dialog on various issues. This contributes to the strengthening of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Bulgaria,” the acting minister summarized.
The first transaction for the export of milk powder to Ukraine has been completed at the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE), the press service of the BUCE has reported.
“Following the trading session, a Ukrainian company purchased from a Belarusian manufacturer a trial batch of 40 tonnes of skimmed milk powder for $108,000. Earlier, Ukrainian participants mainly purchased scrap metals, construction materials, flour and plant seeds at the BUCE, and showed no interest in domestic dairy products,” the press service said.
The first deal on the purchase of Belarusian milk powder by the Ukrainian company on the stock exchange is considered a landmark event in terms of export diversification.
“This, first of all, was facilitated by the active work of the exchange to attract new buyers from Ukraine to the auction. In particular, the company that completed the transaction is a large importer of agricultural products to the Ukrainian market. On the other hand, an important role was played by the flexible marketing policy of Belarusian dairy processors, who were able to offer their products at a competitive price. As practice shows, a trial purchase is usually followed by transactions of a much larger volume. We look forward to a similar scenario in this case,” the press service said.
They also noticed that Ukraine is in the top five countries in terms of the number of companies accredited on the exchange.
“At the same time, in the first half of the year, the number of Ukrainian participants increased by 16% and amounted to 326. Exchange trade turnover with Ukraine has also significantly increased: following the results of the six months, it reached $24.6 million, which is 58% more than in the same period in 2020,” the report says.
In general, in the first half of 2021, the export of milk powder through the BUCE increased by 4.5 times. The main buyers were residents of the Russian Federation.
