Ukraine to expand poultry exports as EU access tightens
Industry shifts focus to Middle East, UK and African markets
11 November 2025
1 minute read
By: Ukraine is expected to remain both an exporter and importer of chicken meat through 2025 and 2026, according to the latest report from the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS).
Traditionally, Ukraine has targeted premium markets in the Middle East and European Union for poultry parts and whole birds while importing low-cost poultry offal, mainly from the EU, for processing. This reciprocal trade helped balance Ukraine’s growing exports.
USDA FAS expects exports to rise and imports to decline over the next two years as Ukrainian producers increasingly serve the domestic offal market and face growing access barriers abroad.
In 2024, Ukraine became the world’s sixth-largest chicken meat exporter, up one place from the previous year. The report projects that Ukraine will maintain this position in 2025 and 2026, with exports continuing to grow slowly. New processing facilities planned by a mid-sized producer are expected to diversify shipments to the EU and expand sales to the UK, the Middle East, and Africa.
Following the European Union’s introduction of Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs) in 2024, Ukraine redirected more poultry exports to the Middle East. With the reversion to pre-ATM market access levels set for June 2025, growth in non-EU markets is anticipated to strengthen in 2025 and 2026.
