EU

The risk of large-scale wildfires can only be effectively reduced by shifting the focus from response to prevention, prioritising ecosystem resilience and integrated landscape management.

Ukraine's agri-food exports totaled $12.592 billion in January–June 2026, up 11% compared with the same period last year ($11.305 billion).

As of early July, Ukraine is actively utilizing tariff quotas for exports of agri-food products to the European Union.

In June, Ukraine officially opened negotiations with the European Union under the first negotiating cluster, Fundamentals. There are hopes that all negotiating clusters will be opened by the end of the summer, including the one covering the agricultural sector — Cluster 5, which encompasses agricultural policy, food safety, and fisheries.

Ukrainian cheese producers are facing growing pressure due to increasing imports of European dairy products. Against the backdrop of seasonal demand slowdown, lower-priced cheeses from the EU are increasingly displacing domestic products from the market.

The EU–Ukraine Association Agreement provides for a review of trade quotas every five years. However, due to the full-scale war and the introduction of the Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM) regime, the timeline has shifted, and the next quota review is expected on January 1, 2028. At the same time, if Ukraine accelerates its integration into the European Union, there may be an opportunity to return to a free sugar trade regime.

Kernel is developing its own sunflower oil brand in Europe, launched in 2024 in partnership with Dutch food distribution company Fangoo&Zon Impex. To date, 5.5 million liters of products have been sold in the Netherlands under the Bestolie&Kernel trademark.

Ukraine should focus not on increasing the volume of agricultural products exported to the EU, but on producing value-added goods that can be exported beyond the EU and help feed global markets.

The wheat and corn market is entering its most turbulent period in the past thirty years. Previous crises — the global food crisis of 2007–2008, supply disruptions in 2010 and the U.S. drought in 2012 — were largely driven by a single factor: a harvest shock, a spike in oil prices or a short-term financial panic. Today, the global grain market is being pressured simultaneously by at least eight structural factors.

The current draft law on new genomic techniques in the EU means that some GMOs will be defined as non-GMOs and will be allowed for use only with the appropriate seed labeling. This is the future that awaits Ukraine.

In recent years, Polish farmers have made numerous accusations against Ukrainian agricultural producers. There is a certain level of competition between producers in the two countries, as well as concerns about possible pressure on Polish farmers if Ukraine joins the EU. But is a compromise possible between producers and farmers in both countries?

For Ukrainian farmers, the European Union is the most important market, one that is already shaping export strategies and production technologies. In January–February 2026 alone, Ukraine exported 9.95 million tonnes of agricultural products worth a total of $4 billion. At the same time, foreign currency revenues from agricultural exports increased by 9.3% compared with last year, while the EU’s share in total exports amounted to about 50%.

Export of Ukrainian honey in 2026 may decrease to 40-45 thousand tons.

Ukraine's path to the EU requires fundamental changes in business approaches. After all, this market requires not only the availability of products, but also transparency of the entire supply chain, compliance with environmental standards and high financial discipline. In order not to lose margins before entering the EU market, it is worth preparing today.