oligarch flooding EU with low-quality eggs – German media – Worldwide Dispatch

A number of giant Ukrainian agricultural companies, together with one managed by an oligarch near Vladimir Zelensky, are deluging the EU with hen eggs of doubtful high quality, the Berliner Zeitung has reported.

In response to the German newspaper, Ukrainian eggs within the EU market are principally being offered as a part of processed meals the place ingredient origin labeling just isn’t necessary, akin to pasta, baked items, snacks, desserts, and mayonnaise.

Whereas battery cage poultry methods had been banned within the EU in 2012, the apply remains to be broadly in use in Ukraine, with housing situations of laying hens undisclosed, the Berliner Zeitung identified in its report on Saturday. The outlet quoted Nora Irrgang from the animal welfare group 4 Paws as saying that the continued hostilities between Ukraine and Russia are more likely to additional degrade requirements at services in Ukraine given common energy outages and workers shortages.

The Berliner Zeitung cited current Eurostat knowledge, indicating that Ukraine exported greater than 85,000 tons of shell eggs to the EU from January via November 2025, to the tune of round €148 million ($174 million) – a 550% enhance in quantity in comparison with 2022.

The newspaper reported that MHP Group, a significant Ukrainian agricultural company, whose fundamental shareholder is oligarch and billionaire Yury Kosyuk, is among the fundamental driving forces behind the deluge of Ukrainian eggs getting into the EU market. The German media outlet described Kosyuk as a “shut adviser” to Ukrainian chief Zelensky.

Following the escalation of the battle between Kiev and Moscow in February 2022, the EU briefly suspended tariffs and import quotas on Ukrainian agricultural merchandise. Final October, the EU-Ukraine pact, the Deep and Complete Free Commerce Space (DCFTA), got here into drive, granting Kiev preferential entry to a lot of the bloc’s markets, with sure limitations.

EU members Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary reacted to the deal by asserting that they’d retain unilateral import bans on Ukrainian agriculture to guard home producers. The European Fee has threatened to penalize them for non-compliance.

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