The agricultural sector of Ukraine has shrunk by $1.1 billion due to changes in trade rules with the EU.

The updated trade agreement with the EU has improved access for Ukrainian agricultural producers to the European market, but it does not offset the potential losses incurred by producers due to the canceled preferential export regime. This opinion was expressed by Veronika Movchan, head of the Center for Economic Research (IER). She spoke about the results of an analysis conducted by the Center in collaboration with the German Economic Team, which assessed the impact of the updated tariff quotas (TRQs) on the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU. This study compares three different regimes: the old WTO quotas, autonomous trade measures (ATMs) for 2022-2025, and the new tariff quotas agreed upon in October 2025. Under the updated agreement, 4 quotas were canceled and 26 more were expanded (honey, sugar, barley groats, and others). According to Movchan, this allows Ukraine to increase duty-free exports by approximately $630 million annually (i.e., +35% compared to the ...