Ukraine closed its border to milk and meat products from Germany on January 13 due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, creating problems for importers of these products.

During a meeting of the specialized committee at the European Business Association, attention was drawn to the lack of clear boundaries in defining the ban. For example, the presence of milk, even in dried form, in chocolate or other confectionery products could serve as grounds for prohibiting their import into Ukraine. Customs officials are stopping the import of any German dairy products into Ukraine. In 2024, the largest import from Germany was cheese - 7,600 tons valued at 43.5 million euros.

It is noted that Ukrainian dairy producers plan to fill this gap. There are two scenarios here. The first is that if foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks continue in Germany, cheese prices in Ukraine will slightly increase. Challenges will arise for B2B suppliers who import products for the HoReCa sector. They will need to quickly find replacements for German goods. Importers of niche cheeses, such as Bavaria Blue or Milbenkäse, will also be forced to seek alternatives.

The second scenario is to cancel import restrictions from Germany, which is expected in early February.

Reference source: http://surl.li/vdgcys6hgs