EU-accredited plants produce 83% of Ukraine's poultry meat and 75% of its table eggs

Accredited capacity carries most of Ukraine's output

Enterprises accredited to export to the European Union produce 83% of Ukraine's poultry meat and 75% of its table eggs, Serhiy Karpenko, executive director of the Poultry Union of Ukraine association, said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

The split tells buyers and processors where Ukrainian supply actually sits. The overwhelming majority of the country's poultry meat tonnage and three quarters of its table egg volume are produced at sites already operating under European veterinary and hygiene rules. The remainder — 17% of poultry meat and 25% of eggs — comes from capacity outside that perimeter and is, by definition, unavailable for direct shipment to the EU.

Where the accreditation sits

According to Karpenko, Ukrainian establishments currently holding European accreditation comprise:

• 15 facilities producing and cutting poultry meat;
• 29 egg production facilities;
• five egg processing plants.

Since the start of 2026 alone, 22 enterprises have been added to the list of facilities permitted to export to the EU, Karpenko said. Measured against the installed base of approved sites, that is a substantial addition and points to a broad certification push by Ukrainian operators rather than a handful of one-off approvals.

The distribution of approvals differs between the two subsectors. Poultry meat has fewer accredited sites — 15 — yet the higher accredited share of output at 83%. Eggs have almost twice as many approved production facilities, 29, for a lower accredited share of 75%. That points to a more concentrated meat segment, where a small number of integrated plants handle most of the volume, and a more fragmented egg segment in which a long tail of farms still operates outside the EU list.

Compliance is now mandatory at home

A significant number of small producers are struggling to implement the European requirements, because their share of total production is small, Karpenko said. From 2026 those requirements became mandatory at national level as well, not only for companies shipping to the EU.

That change removes the option of serving the domestic market to a lower standard. Small farms that previously avoided capital spending on EU-grade slaughter, grading, cold chain and traceability now face the same rulebook as exporters, without the export revenue to amortise it. The volumes involved are limited — the smaller segment accounts for well under a fifth of meat output — but the number of operators affected is not.

EU rules as a route to third markets

"EU standards are a benchmark for many countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas. Products that comply with EU norms automatically get a green light on most world markets," Karpenko said.

In his view, harmonisation of Ukrainian legislation with EU norms and compliance by market operators will make it possible to increase exports of poultry products not only to EU countries but to other global markets. For Ukrainian producers, the practical argument is that accreditation already held by most of the industry's capacity works as a passport well beyond Europe and lowers the cost of qualifying for buyers in the Gulf, North Africa and Asia. The full interview was published by Interfax-Ukraine.