In February 2025, Ukraine tripled its imports of chilled and frozen pork compared to January, importing 963 tons, according to the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders (AUPB).
Experts say the increase in imports came amid an atypical rise in procurement prices for this time of year.
So far, imported pork does not pose serious competition to domestic producers and is not impacting prices on the Ukrainian market.
“Since domestic pork supply this year is lower than last year’s, import volumes may rise in spring and summer during peak meat demand. If prices weaken on European markets — from where most pork is imported — and remain high in Ukraine, importing cheaper raw materials will become economically viable”, AUPB stated.
In that case, imports may begin to influence price formation more significantly. However, such pressure is not being observed yet.
Despite February’s import volume being the highest in the past 14 months, meat industry representatives say it has had little visible impact on the market so far.
