According to the results of 2025, Ukraine imported Polish agri-food products worth EUR 1.2 billion and entered the list of key destinations for Polish exports outside the European Union, reported the Polish online publication agronews.com.pl.
According to the publication, Polish food exports to third countries grew by 3% last year, reaching EUR 14.5 billion, which accounted for 25% of total sales. The main consumers in this segment, apart from Ukraine, were the United Kingdom with EUR 4.4 billion and the United States with EUR 838 million. Meat (EUR 1.6 billion), dairy products (EUR 1.1 billion), and chocolate products (EUR 1 billion) were in the highest demand in markets outside the EU.
According to Polish analysts, the strengthening of the zloty exchange rate, which slightly reduced the price competitiveness of Polish goods, was a restraining factor for further expansion.
At the same time, the European Union remains Poland’s key trading partner, accounting for 75% of all shipments. Exports to the bloc grew by 10% to EUR43.9 billion. Germany was traditionally the main buyer, with EUR14.8 billion. The commodity structure of European supplies was dominated by poultry meat (EUR4.2 billion, +26%), beef (EUR2.7 billion, +37%), and confectionery.
Poland’s total agri-food exports in 2025 set a historic record and reached EUR58.4 billion, allowing the country to maintain a positive trade balance of EUR19.8 billion.
The volume of agricultural production in Ukraine in January 2026 increased by 3.2% compared to the same period last year, according to the State Statistics Service (Gosstat).
According to the agency, the growth was driven exclusively by the livestock sector. Data on crop production for this period is traditionally unavailable.
The main driver was agricultural enterprises, which increased production by 11.9%. The best dynamics in this segment were shown by Vinnytsia (25.7%), Lviv (25.1%), and Kirovohrad (19.7%) regions. Overall, growth was recorded in 18 regions.
However, there was a decline in private households: production volumes fell by 15% compared to January 2025. The largest decline in the private sector was recorded in Zakarpattia (index 54.6%), Donetsk region (60.5%), and Lviv region (75.1%).
In regional terms, the largest decline in all categories of farms was recorded in Donetsk (index 60.5%), Zakarpattia (68.3%), and Chernivtsi (82.9%) regions. At the same time, Vinnytsia (+22.9%) and Lviv (+22.7%) regions became the leaders in overall growth.
As reported, at the end of 2025, agricultural production in Ukraine decreased by 6.8% compared to 2024. The decline in crop production was 7.5%, and in livestock production, 4.1%. Only Chernihiv, Sumy, and Vinnytsia regions maintained positive dynamics over the past year.
In January 2026, Ukraine exported 5.0 million tons of agricultural products, which is 0.8% less than in the previous month, according to the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UAC).
According to analysts, in the first month of the year, there was an increase in exports only in the grain segment, while all other types of products saw a decline. Corn remains the main export item at present.
According to experts, in the structure of agribusiness exports in January 2026, grain crops increased by 13% compared to the previous month and amounted to 3.4 million tons (corn – 83%, wheat – 16%), oilseeds decreased by 32% to 351.7 thousand tons (soybeans – 63%, rapeseed – 35%, and sunflower – 1%), vegetable oils – by 6% to 479.7 thousand tons (sunflower oil – 82%, rapeseed oil – 10%, and soybean oil – 7%), oilcake after extraction of vegetable oils decreased by 32% to 411.0 thousand tons (sunflower – 73%, soybean – 27%), other types of agricultural products decreased by 15% to 349.9 thousand tons.
Slovakia, Poland, and a number of European countries have agreed on a position to strengthen controls on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products entering the European market, Slovak Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč told reporters after a meeting of European Union agriculture ministers (Agrifish) in Brussels on Monday.
“I can say that at an informal joint lunch, we discussed strengthening controls on imports from third countries, which is a key issue for the Slovak Republic with regard to Ukraine. Of course, for many other countries, this is partly MERCOSUR, but we also have other agreements with third countries,” he said.
Takács noted that during the informal talks, the parties agreed on a common position on the introduction of regular monitoring, in particular audits “in these third countries,” and support for strengthening controls in terms of food safety.
“We have a big problem, for example, on the border with Ukraine, where we need to strengthen these checks in terms of food safety when importing from these third countries,” he added.
According to Takach, the Polish representative presented materials that clearly demonstrate the need to strengthen such measures.
“I am glad that his materials also mentioned that Poland will propose the creation of a special fund for compensation for imports from third countries if farmers or food producers suffer. I am very pleased that they have adopted this rhetoric and the idea that we have been talking about for almost two years – that it is necessary to create such a compensation fund,” the Slovak minister emphasized.
He noted that the import of agricultural products from third countries is a topical issue for many European countries, which are convinced of the need to increase the protection of their consumers and raise the standards of third countries and their products to meet European Union standards.
“When a farmer in Europe has to comply with certain standards—how much he can spray (agricultural crops), how much he can fertilize, what the production process should be—we must demand the same when importing from third countries. And the creation of a special compensation fund and regular monitoring (of agricultural products) on a monthly basis, rather than once every six months,” summarized the Slovak Minister of Agriculture.
As reported, on January 26, the EU Council on Agriculture was to consider the request of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria to strengthen the protection of the European market from agricultural imports from Ukraine. The initiating countries argue that the existing mechanisms of the free trade agreement are not sufficient to protect their farmers, especially in sectors such as sugar, meat, grain, and dairy production.
The main demands are the unification of production standards so that Ukrainian products comply with strict EU standards on pesticides and animal welfare, as well as the creation of a special compensation fund for farmers. Until these measures are implemented and stricter border controls are in place, these countries are calling on the European Union to refrain from further tariff liberalization for Ukraine.
The LNZ Group agricultural holding exported about 2 million tons of agricultural products in 2025, according to the press service of the agricultural holding, citing data from the director of LNZ Export, Volodymyr Humenyuk.
The agricultural holding noted that after acquiring the SEZ, LNZ Group became one of the leaders in oilseed processing, focusing on rapeseed and soybeans. Processed products are also sold on foreign markets, where the company has strengthened its position and established itself in the premium segments.
“About 90% of exports are carried out through the ports of Greater Odessa. Throughout the year, LNZ Group expanded its presence primarily in the EU markets, cooperating with both multinational corporations and local processors in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, etc. Products were also supplied to neighboring Poland, Hungary, and Romania, as well as to countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia,” said Gumenyuk.
Roman Franchuk, Director of Agricultural Production at LNZ Group, emphasized that, in general, the past season in the agricultural sector was difficult for LNZ Group due to weather conditions—a cold spring, a cool start to summer, and a prolonged drought reduced yields in the company’s fields in the central region. The situation was better in the Sumy cluster, but harvesting there was complicated by constant attacks from enemy UAVs. In the Vinnytsia region, where it rained, technical crops were harvested with high yields. In the Rivne cluster, due to prolonged rainfall and late soybean vegetation, harvesting is still ongoing, while early grains, in particular wheat, yielded about 6 t/ha.
The holding achieved planned yields on 200 ha of vegetable crops thanks to drip irrigation. They grew onions, peppers, tomatoes, rhubarb, cauliflower, and broccoli. Next year, they plan to expand the area under vegetables and add carrots and table beets. Raspberries and strawberries also showed high yields, and the area under them will also be increased.
“Taking into account the season, the company has revised its crop structure for 2026: it has increased the area under rapeseed to 11,000 hectares, under winter wheat to 17,000 hectares (12,000 hectares a year earlier), and has also expanded the area under peas to 3,000 hectares (usually 500 hectares). The area under sugar corn for the needs of the TEVITTA freezing plant remained unchanged at 750 hectares,” Franchuk summed up.
LNZ Group is a vertically integrated agricultural holding company with its central office in the village of Lebedyn, Cherkasy region. It specializes in the cultivation of grain, industrial, and berry crops, seed production, as well as the distribution of plant protection products (TM DEFENDA) and seeds (TM UNIVERSEED).
The holding’s land bank covers more than 80,000 hectares in the Cherkasy and Sumy regions. It has a network of elevators with a total capacity of about 170,000 tons, as well as modern storage facilities with an area of more than 50,000 square meters and refrigeration complexes with a capacity of 8,000 tons.
LNZ Group has a number of processing plants. The Lebedyn Seed Plant (corn division) specializes in the full cycle of corn seed processing with a capacity of up to 330 tons/day. The multifunctional seed plant cleans and calibrates wheat, soybeans, and sunflowers (up to 200 tons/day). The oilseed processing plant specializes in the production of soybean and rapeseed oil and meal.
The Tevitta frozen food plant specializes in flash freezing berries, vegetables, and fruits (IQF technology) with a capacity of 10,000 tons per year. The Shpola food factory (TM “Zhayvir”) produces snacks, halva, kozinaki, etc.
The main beneficiary of the group is Dmytro Kravchenko.
According to the results of 2025, Ukraine exported agricultural products worth $22.53 billion, which is 8.8%, or $2.15 billion, less than the previous year, according to the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UAC).
The association noted that despite the decrease in foreign exchange earnings, the share of the agro-industrial complex in the overall structure of goods exports in 2025 was 56.1%.
“Although this percentage has declined slightly compared to the record year of 2023, when agricultural products accounted for 61% of total exports, the industry continues to generate more than half of the country’s foreign trade revenues,” analysts emphasized.
The most noticeable trend was a reduction in agricultural exports to the European Union. While in 2022-2024 the EU’s share in the structure of Ukrainian agricultural exports consistently exceeded 50%, in 2025 it fell to 47.5% ($10.7 billion), according to statistics.
Some of the factors influencing this are changes in logistics routes and tighter regulatory restrictions on the European market. There has also been a general decline in trade dynamics, namely: the balance with the EU fell to $6.06 billion compared to $8.87 billion in 2024, analysts noted.
They emphasized that against the backdrop of declining export revenues, there is a reverse trend in the import segment. In 2025, purchases of foreign agricultural products rose to a record $8.75 billion over the past five years.
“Although the share of agricultural products in Ukraine’s total imports has remained stable over the past four years at around 10.8%, in absolute terms, spending on food imports is growing every year. At the same time, in 2025, more than 53% of all agricultural imports ($4.64 billion) came from European Union countries, which underscores the deep integration of Ukraine’s consumer market with the European market,” the UACB concluded.
