Starting from 6 June 2025, the agricultural community of Ukraine, including Odesa region, will enter a new phase of foreign economic challenges. The European Union is restoring the pre-war trade regime under the Association Agreement, which provides for the introduction of quotas for about 30 product groups, instead of the previous seven. This applies not only to grains, but also to dairy products, meat, tomato paste, ethyl alcohol, etc.

This decision significantly changes the agro-export landscape and requires flexibility, strategic planning and rapid adaptation from farmers in the region.

📍CLOTHING: AT THE EPICENTRE OF CHANGE

Odesa region is a powerful agricultural hub that actively exports wheat, barley, sunflower, oil, tomato paste, and wine products. The goods went to Europe, Africa and Asia via the Black Sea ports. However, with the return of strict quotas on processed foods (flour, cereals, ethyl alcohol, milk, meat), farmers and processors in the region will face new realities:

✅ The rapid filling of quotas for raw materials (e.g. wheat) will leave no room for value-added exports (flour, cereals).
✅ Overproduction within the country can affect domestic prices.
✅ The dairy and meat industries in Odesa region may lose a part of the European market, which will complicate investment planning and maintain profitability.

📈PERSPECTIVES: WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Despite the difficulties, the new rules of the game also provide room for agribusiness to be renewed.

🔹 Reorientation to the domestic market. The increase in food production in the country can be used to establish local supply chains: school meals, the army, hospitals, and social programmes.
🔹 Search for new markets. Asia, Africa, and the Middle East are potential partners that do not have such strict quotas and are already open to Ukrainian food.
🔹 Deeper processing is the way to profitability. Moving from simple processing to the production of more complex products (premium flour, pasta, packaged cereals, ready-made sauces, cheese products).
🔹 Cooperation is the answer to the challenges of scaling up. Bringing farmers and processors together in cooperatives can help reduce costs, improve quality and find export partners.

💡ADVICE FOR FARMERS AND PROCESSORS IN ODESA REGION:

1. Promptly track information about quotas - what volumes have already been exhausted and where there is still room for export.
2. Invest in certification according to third-country standards to expand your sales geography.
3. Communicate with processors - it may be better to sell raw materials within the country at a better price than to export them at a lower price.
4. Diversify your production - try niche crops or products with high added value (nuts, oils, spices, local cheeses, etc.).
5. Consider participating in government export support or credit programmes.

🔚 Returning to strict quotas with the EU is not the end, but new stage evolution of the Ukrainian agricultural sector. For Odesa region, as a region with logistics and export potential, the main thing is not to lose momentum.

Today, we need to coordinate the efforts of farmers, processors, trading houses, analysts and the government. We need to think strategically: not only to survive in the new environment, but to find new opportunities and turn challenges into competitive advantage.

Ukrainian agrarians are strong when they are flexible, courageous and united 💪🌻