PJSC “Euroshpon-Smyga” (Smyga, Rivne Oblast), a leading Ukrainian manufacturer of sawn veneer, saw its net profit decline by 29.2% in January–June 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, down to 109.4 million UAH.
According to the company’s financial statements published on its website, its net revenue for this period increased by 18.4% to 630.3 million UAH.
The company reported UAH 168.9 million in gross profit (down 3.6%) amid a 31.8% decline in operating profit to UAH 132.2 million.
Retained earnings as of the end of the reporting period stood at UAH 1.23 billion.
According to the report, in the second quarter of this year, “Euroshpon-Smiga’s” net profit fell by 41.7% compared to April–June 2025—to 54.2 million UAH—while net sales revenue rose by nearly 15%—to 311.7 million UAH.
As of early July of this year, the company employed 430 people.
According to its own information, the trade and industrial company “Euroshpon-Smiga” is the leading manufacturer of planed veneer in Ukraine. It produces lumber, planed veneer, and finger-jointed veneer from various wood species. Its products comply with international standards and are FSC-certified.
Last year, the company exported 81.6% of its total sales, amounting to 901.1 million UAH; importing countries included Poland, Lithuania, Spain, Slovakia, Belgium, and the United States.
In 2025, its net profit increased by 14.7%—to 258.8 million UAH—compared to 2024, as net revenue rose by 15.6%—to 1 billion 105 million UAH. This year, shareholders approved dividend payments twice—totaling 50 million UAH.
Moldova and Kazakhstan remain the two largest markets for Ukrainian cheese: in January–July 2026, they accounted for 34.8% and 25.8% of Ukrainian exports, respectively, according to the Association of Milk Producers, citing data from the State Customs Service.
Germany became the third-largest buyer with a share of 13.1%.
Thus, Moldova and Kazakhstan together account for 60.6% of foreign demand for Ukrainian cheese among the markets listed, and the combined share of the three main markets reaches 73.7%, according to calculations based on data from the Milk Producers Association.
In total, Ukraine exported 8,200 metric tons of cheese over the first seven months of 2026, which is only 1.2% more than the figure for the same period last year.
Export revenue totaled $37.4 million, increasing by only 0.5%.
This means that the value of exports is growing even more slowly than their physical volume. The estimated average price of exported products was approximately $4,560 per metric ton and remained virtually unchanged year-over-year.
At the same time, Ukraine is increasing its cheese imports at a significantly faster rate. From January through July, 28.3 thousand metric tons of cheese were imported into the country—24.7% more than a year earlier—with a total value of $168.8 million.
As a result, Ukrainian cheese exports account for less than one-third of the volume of imports, and their geographic distribution remains fairly concentrated around several key markets.
Germany’s presence in both directions of trade is particularly telling: the country accounts for 16.3% of Ukraine’s cheese imports and is simultaneously the third-largest market for Ukrainian products, with a 13.1% share.
Source: Association of Milk Producers
Ukraine’s industrial poultry sector remains highly concentrated: by 2027, the six largest vertically integrated companies will account for more than 75% of chicken meat production, according to a forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
MHP remains the largest player, accounting for well over half of Ukraine’s industrial chicken production, according to the USDA FAS report Poultry and Products Annual, published on August 19, 2026.
Industrial broiler farms accounted for about 90% of Ukraine’s total chicken production in 2025. Another 8% came from household farms, and about 2% came from culled laying hens, parent stock, and other categories of poultry.
The USDA expects the role of industrial production to continue to grow, while the share of household farms will gradually decline.
Despite MHP’s dominance, the U.S. agency characterizes the Ukrainian market as competitive. Several medium-sized producers launched expansion and productivity improvement programs in 2025–2026, and some of the new capacity is expected to enter the market in 2026–2027.
Vertical integration allows companies to simultaneously engage in poultry farming, feed production, grain and oilseed cultivation, and processing, which helps offset price and military risks. The industry’s growth is currently financed primarily through companies’ own funds, as Ukrainian businesses’ access to international capital markets remains limited.
At the same time, the country’s largest producer continues its active international expansion.
In July 2025, MHP acquired 92% of Spain’s Grupo UVESA for EUR 270 million. According to USDA estimates, following the transaction, the group controls more than 10% of the Spanish poultry market, and the acquired capacity adds approximately 160,000 metric tons of chicken meat per year.
Sales in MHP’s European segment exceeded $1 billion by the end of 2025.
In May 2026, MHP acquired a 70% stake in Th. Nitsiakos AVEE, Greece’s largest vertically integrated chicken producer, with an option to acquire the remaining 30%.
The USDA reports that the Greek company’s revenue in 2025 was nearly EUR540 million, and the transaction is expected to be completed in several tranches by December 2028.
The number of Ukrainian enterprises with access to the European Union market is also growing. In 2026, the number of Ukrainian producers, processors, poultry slaughterhouses, and cold storage facilities approved by the EU increased by two, bringing the total to 19.
Among the most notable new entrants, the USDA highlights the Lutsk Agricultural Company, part of the Avesterra Group. According to the company’s management, it is implementing a large-scale expansion program with the aim of intensifying competition with MHP in both domestic and international markets.
The USDA forecasts that chicken meat production in Ukraine will increase from 1.386 million metric tons in 2025 to 1.48 million metric tons in 2026 and 1.54 million metric tons in 2027. The bulk of this growth is expected to come from industrial enterprises in the central and western regions of Ukraine.
Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Ukraine: Poultry and Products Annual, report UP2026-0022.
In January–July 2026, Ukraine imported 28,300 metric tons of cheese, which is 24.7% more than during the same period last year, while exports of Ukrainian cheese rose by only 1.2%—to 8,200 metric tons.
This is according to data from the State Customs Service, cited by the Association of Milk Producers (AMP) in a publication dated August 26.
Thus, according to calculations based on AMM data, the physical volume of cheese imports was approximately 3.5 times greater than exports, and the difference between imports and exports reached about 20,100 metric tons.
The gap in monetary terms is even more pronounced. The value of cheese imports over the seven-month period totaled $168.8 million, an increase of 17.9%, while exports brought Ukraine $37.4 million, which is only 0.5% more than last year’s figure.
Thus, imports exceeded exports in monetary terms by approximately 4.5 times, and the trade deficit in cheese amounted to about $131.4 million.
The data provided by the APM also shows that the average estimated cost of imported cheese was about $6,000 per metric ton, while that of exported cheese was about $4,600 per metric ton.
At the same time, imports in physical terms are growing significantly faster than their value: the volume increased by 24.7%, while procurement costs rose by 17.9%. This indicates a decrease in the average calculated import value per metric ton by approximately 5% compared to January–July of last year.
For comparison: Ukraine’s total merchandise imports in January–July 2026 amounted to $58.1 billion, while exports totaled $24.1 billion, according to the State Customs Service.
Poland, Germany, and the Netherlands remain the main suppliers of cheese to the Ukrainian market, while Ukrainian products are mainly exported to Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Germany.
Original source: Association of Milk Producers, citing data from the State Customs Service.
Nibulon Joint Venture LLC proposes introducing a transitional mechanism for assigning and confirming the qualifications of river fleet specialists, which, according to its estimates, will make it possible to increase shipments through the Danube export corridor by 100,000 metric tons per month, the company’s press service reported, citing Logistics Director Serhiy Kalkutin.
“Nibulon” could deploy an additional 12 tugboats on the Danube, but this would require resolving the issue of retraining and processing the necessary paperwork for approximately 30 specialists. And we are not the only ones facing this limitation. “If a workable mechanism is created to attract qualified specialists on an industry-wide scale, the Danube corridor will be able to transport up to an additional 100,000 metric tons of cargo per month,” the press service quoted Kalkutin as saying.
He explained that shipowners have a technically ready fleet but are unable to fully staff their crews or put additional vessels into service due to a shortage of qualified crew members.
As noted in the statement, “Nibulon” proposes introducing a temporary transitional mechanism for certifying and confirming the qualifications of inland waterway fleet specialists and for them to obtain the necessary documents until the full transition to European regulations is complete. This, in particular, will allow specialists with the necessary training and experience to complete the paperwork required to work on the Danube more quickly.
Kalkutin emphasized that additional shipments via the Danube corridor will make it possible to support purchases from agricultural producers, ensure the inflow of foreign exchange earnings, and increase the resilience of Ukraine’s export system.
“Nibulon” proposed that the relevant government agencies, together with industry representatives, develop a transitional solution that would allow for the recruitment of the necessary number of qualified specialists to work on inland waterways while complying with requirements for professional competence and navigation safety.
As reported, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, from August 1 to 18, Ukraine exported 900,000 metric tons of agricultural products, of which about 45% were exported via the Danube region.
Wheat trade in Ukraine remains sluggish, while the corn market continues to see some activity, primarily along the western border, consulting firm Barva Invest reported on its Telegram channel.
According to the firm, prices for Ukrainian wheat with an 11.5% protein content on a DAP-Danube basis stand at $166–168 per metric ton.
“An imbalance between supply and demand persists in the Ukrainian wheat market. A shortage of EU quotas, logistics at the western border booked months in advance, and the absence of panic among importers are holding back trading activity and putting downward pressure on prices,” the report states.
Quotes for Ukrainian corn on a DAP Izov basis stand at $173 per metric ton.
“The Ukrainian corn market is in the off-season and awaiting the resumption of deep-water exports. Some activity continues along the western border for both the old crop and forward contracts,” analysts note.
