The European Union is projected to increase its chicken meat imports by 3.5% this year, as reported by the US Department of Agriculture. Ukraine has been a major supplier, with its exports to the EU surging by over 50% last year due to tariff-free import regulations. However, this provision is due to end on June 5. In contrast, chicken imports from the UK dropped by 20% due to stricter EU sanitary controls following Brexit, and imports from Thailand also saw a slight decrease due to competition with Ukraine. Despite these changes, the EU's overall chicken meat imports rose by 2% last year.