Ukrainian value-added products face problems in sea exports, – UCAB

As of today, Ukrainian grain and oilseed exports by sea are relatively stable, while value-added products face significant barriers.

This is due to the lack of specialized container ships, said Oleksandra Avramenko, head of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s European Integration Committee.

Thus, on November 12, a Civil Society Forum was held to support a dialogue covering aspects of sustainable development of trade relations between Ukraine and the EU.

During the event, Oleksandra Avramenko thanked the representatives of the European Commission for the timely update of the DCFTA, which entered into force on October 29, 2025. This decision was an important step in stabilizing trade flows in agri-food products and deepening Ukraine’s integration into the EU single market.

At the same time, she emphasized that Ukrainian agricultural producers continue to face a number of challenges, the main of which is the limited possibility of diversifying exports due to high insurance payments associated with military risks.

“Within the framework of the updated trade agreement, the biggest problem is not so much the reorientation of grains, but the export of finished products that require container transportation, including the use of special cooling equipment,” the head of the Ukrainian Agricultural Association’s European Integration Committee noted.

According to her, it is currently products with added value that face significant barriers. The return of quotas for dairy products is already forcing some producers to reduce production volumes.

“It is difficult to reorient such products to other sales markets, because there is a catastrophic lack of specialized container ships in ports. This is a consequence of the high cost of insurance and the reluctance of carriers to send new vessels to Ukraine, limiting themselves to old vessels that are not a pity to lose,” the UCAB noted.

In particular, the UCAB emphasized that they continue the dialogue with European institutions regarding the need to support Ukrainian agricultural exporters in traditional sales markets.

As previously reported by USM, in 8 months of operation in 2025, Ukrainian seaports processed 134,191 TEU – this is 3.3% more than the annual figure in 2024.