Ukraine risks losing the EU market due to problems with egg quality
25 September 13:57
ANALYSIS FROM 
Ukraine is facing a problem with the quality of chicken eggs exported to the European Union. Antibiotics were found in several batches of products, which immediately raised concerns among European regulators and consumers. Such incidents jeopardize the reputation of Ukrainian producers and may lead to a temporary ban on supplies to the EU market. If the situation repeats itself, the country risks losing an important export destination and the trust of its European partners.
In a commentary to [comersant], Leonid Kozachenko, president of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation, explained that the use of antibiotics is related to the fight against salmonellosis, but such practices pose significant risks to the industry’s reputation.
“Indeed, when it was reported that chicken eggs with antibiotics in their structure were entering the European market from Ukraine, it was a great concern for many producers of these products. But after certain checks, it turned out that one of the producers of these products used antibiotics to fight salmonellosis. It is a very complicated process to destroy salmonellosis. Water with antibiotics alone is not enough. We need to take more serious measures. What happened in Lviv, when Katsurin’s restaurant was shown on TV and he wrote about it himself, is also salmonellosis. I don’t know if it’s the same egg producer that’s now in the European Union or not, but more than a hundred people were hospitalized,” he said.
Mr. Kozachenko emphasized that the State Food Service of Ukraine should control the quality of products.
“Apparently, there was not enough control, and in the future it is necessary to take a more rigorous approach to checking these products. They recorded two cases in Europe within a month when they received these products from Ukraine, the presence of an antibiotic. But it’s good that they didn’t see salmonella there,” the expert added.
Leonid Kozachenko emphasized that it is very difficult to fight salmonella in Ukraine.
“In order to eliminate salmonella, you need to kill all the chickens that are at this poultry farm. Then it must be disinfected professionally using certain technologies. It is necessary to disinfect and keep this poultry farm for at least 20 days without the presence of chickens that were, let’s say, affected by salmonella. That is, our modern poultry farms are millions of chickens. They should be destroyed. Then let it stand for at least 30 days. After that, check it again and start to restart production,” said the president of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation.
In his opinion, the State Tax Service should strengthen its control work.
“Because if the European Union, they have now started a serious inspection and examination, they demand to be allowed into the territory of Ukraine, to examine the producers of these products. If they find salmonellosis, we will find ourselves in a very difficult situation and will lose this market for some time,” summarized Kozachenko.
Ukrainian egg exports to the EU increased significantly in 2025. In particular, according to data for August 2025, 168.2 million pieces were shipped, which is 81.9% more than in 2024.
Although previously duty-free and quota-free access rules were in effect, since June 2024 the European Union has introduced new tariff quotas for eggs (and other products), which have been exceeded since the beginning of the year, resulting in the application of most-favored-nation tariffs.
The three largest buyers of Ukrainian eggs during January-March 2025 consist exclusively of European countries: Croatia (25.6%), Poland (10.9%) and the United Kingdom (8.8%).
In total, they export 45.3% of eggs.
The French poultry industry organization CNPO has reported numerous cases of hundreds of thousands of eggs from Ukraine being sold in supermarkets in France that do not meet European poultry standards and the ban in France on the selection and destruction of male chicks. According to the CNPO, Ukrainian eggs may also contain antibiotics banned in the EU. During four inspections of egg batches exported through Slovakia and Poland, substances that may be hazardous to human health were found.
