The European Union will terminate the preferential trade regime with Ukraine, known as the ‘trade visa’, effective June 5, 2025. This decision, announced by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, will affect around 30 types of Ukrainian agricultural products. Poland, currently holding the EU presidency, emphasizes that support for Ukraine in its war with the Russian Federation should not harm Polish producers.
This is reported by Business • Media
“We are returning to the situation that existed before the war in terms of border regulations,” Tusk stated.
New Quotas and Restrictions for Ukrainian Exporters
According to Oleksandra Avramenko, a representative of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club, the quota system for importing Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU will significantly expand after the end of the ‘trade visa’. Previously, it applied to only seven commodity positions, but now restrictions will extend to 30 types of products. Ukrainian exporters will only be able to utilize 7/12 of the annual quotas that were in place before the full-scale war, which corresponds to the seven months remaining until the end of 2025 for each commodity position.
Reduction in Export Volumes of Key Crops
Changes in quotas will significantly impact the export of Ukrainian grain and sugar to the EU. Wheat exports will decrease from 6 million tons to 1 million tons, corn from 4.7 million tons to 650 thousand tons, and sugar to 20 thousand tons. The restoration of former trading conditions will only begin after the completion of internal political processes in EU countries, as the European Commission will be able to review trade conditions with Ukraine under the association agreement only in the summer of 2025.