Ukraine Has a Chance to Return to Free Sugar Trade with the EU

This was stated by Yana Kavushevska, Chairwoman of the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine «Ukrsugar», in an interview with AgroPortal.ua.

«At present, Ukraine has an EU sugar export quota of 100,000 tonnes per calendar year. This volume is allocated among producers in proportion to their share of production during the previous season. The mechanism was designed to ensure balanced exports and to avoid disruptions for European partners that could occur if 100,000 tonnes of sugar entered the EU customs territory at once. Under the current system, each producer knows its quota and is guaranteed the opportunity to export its allocated volume, eliminating the need to rush shipments», Yana Kavushevska explained.

She added that European food manufacturers that use sugar as a raw material typically do not purchase their annual requirements in a single transaction. Instead, they buy sugar on a monthly or quarterly basis. The quota allocation mechanism has enabled Ukrainian producers to sign direct contracts with European manufacturing companies and gradually supply the required volumes throughout the year.

According to Kavushevska, this approach allows Ukraine to become more deeply integrated into European supply chains. Considering the overall market situation and existing cooperation mechanisms, there is reason to expect that Ukrainian sugar will remain in demand in Europe and that the quota will be fully utilized.

Viktoriia Polevyk, AgroPortal.ua