Ukraine exhausts EU tariff quota for skimmed milk powder exports

As of August 1, 2025, Ukraine can no longer export skimmed milk powder to the European Union under the tariff quota — the limit has been fully used. EPravda reports citing the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine (UDE).

According to UDE, as of July 30, over 91% of the quota had been used — with only 280 tons remaining from the total limit of 2.92 thousand tons. Meanwhile, shipments exceeding the remaining quota are already awaiting customs clearance.

"Therefore, starting from August 1, it is no longer economically viable to send commercial shipments of skimmed milk powder to the EU — they will have to be returned," the association noted.

The quota for butter and milk fats has not yet been exhausted, but is more than two-thirds full. If the current pace of exports continues, the limit could be reached by the third decade of August.

According to the association, the exhaustion of quotas has already affected the domestic market: in the second half of July, farmgate milk prices in Ukraine rose by more than 5%. This is due to processors’ efforts to increase profit margins before access to the EU market is restricted.

As of early June 2025, butter and skimmed milk powder accounted for 89% of the total value of Ukraine’s dairy exports to the EU — with 45% attributed to skimmed milk powder alone. Between January and June, around 10,000 tons of skimmed milk powder and 4,200 tons of butter were shipped to the European Union.