BFREPA responds to Government statement on trade measures to support the Ukrainian economy

Published on : 19 Jan 2026

BFREPA are extremely disappointed that the current trade agreement with Ukraine has been extended for a further two years. At the very least, we had hoped for the introduction of a quota system to provide some level of control over the volume of imports.

We believe that any assistance provided by the UK Government must be funded through general taxation and must not come at the expense of British egg farmers who produce eggs to world-leading standards in terms of animal health and welfare, environmental protection and food safety.

It is neither fair to British farmers, who have invested significantly in egg production, nor to British consumers, to undermine domestic production in this way. A significant proportion of imported eggs will enter the processed food sector as ingredients, meaning consumers will have no clear indication of country of origin and therefore no ability to make an informed choice.

Ukrainian eggs are not produced to the same standards required of UK producers. Indeed, Ukrainian egg packaging itself carries the label “non-UK standard”. While we are reassured that eggs exported to the UK will meet UK requirements as part of this trade deal, the continued use of such labelling raises serious concerns and doubts.

Although safeguards exist within the trade agreement, we do not believe they can be activated quickly enough to prevent harm to British egg farmers - many of whom are small family businesses who, through a combination of higher costs of production driven by high standards on farm or scale, cannot compete with the huge Ukrainian businesses operating at lower standards of production. We are also concerned that the thresholds for intervention are set far too high, meaning British egg farmers suffer financial damage long before official data reflects that impact.

We will continue to work closely with the Government to ensure the concerns of our members are fully understood and to press for a fairer, more balanced approach to future trade arrangements. We will also be monitoring the situation very closely and if we see a negative impact on our members we will not hesitate to call upon Government for support and appropriate, timely intervention.

Following this announcement the egg sector will be seeking an urgent meeting with Government to discuss our concerns.


Chairman of BFREPA and Scottish free-range egg farmer, James Baxter, commented:
“We have worked extremely hard to convey to Defra and Department for Business and Trade (DBT) the strength of feeling among our members and the deep unfairness they see in the continued import of eggs from Ukraine. Whilst we support the Ukrainian people as they approach the fourth anniversary of Russia's illegal invasion, we believe that support should be from general taxation. Extending the existing trade deal is an easy option but this not only undermines UK egg farmers but also contradicts the Government’s own recently published welfare strategy around high animal welfare standards and its assurances that these would be protected in future trade deals.

While safeguards exist within the trade agreement, our concern is that the threshold for triggering them is far too high and the HMRC data, on which these decisions rely, is both out of date and at times inaccurate.

Alongside the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) we have written to the Prime Minister and both Government departments outlining our concerns, we have met with MPs and shared both photographic and anecdotal evidence showing that Ukrainian eggs are falling well short of the high standards required, that we operate to, in the UK. It is therefore deeply disappointing - and unfair on our members - that this decision has been taken.

All in all, this announcement not only badly lets down British egg farmers but also undermines the UK’s world-leading animal welfare and food safety standards. It also undermines our nation's food security at a challenging time for geo-politics as well as British consumers who value and support British produce.”