Turkey remains the main supplier of tomatoes to Ukraine
Despite its own agricultural potential, Ukraine continues to actively purchase tomatoes from Turkey instead of supplying the domestic market with domestically produced goods.
Ukrainian greenhouse farms are not yet able to compete on equal terms with imports. During the winter, domestically grown greenhouse vegetables account for less than 10% of the market, while Turkey has remained the main supplier of tomatoes for over two decades, providing the majority of imports of this product.
Turkey has been supplying tomatoes to Ukraine for 20 consecutive years. But while its share previously stood at 75%, by 2025 it had risen to 82%, and in the first months of 2026—to 63% of current imports.
Just two decades ago, Ukraine exported its own tomatoes, but today it exhibits chronic trade dependence.
Why tomatoes are imported from Turkey
In Ukraine, tomatoes are actively grown in open fields from July to September.
In winter and spring, the cost of local greenhouse vegetables makes them "golden."
Due to regular shelling, power distribution and generation facilities, warehouses, vegetable storage facilities, and terminals are constantly being destroyed; logistics are disrupted; and the dilemma of staffing and mobilization remains unresolved.
Producers are under pressure from high inflationary costs—electricity, water, and gas rates, as well as wage indexation.
"For greenhouse complexes and dairy processing plants, electricity remains a headache — and in 2026, the transmission tariff rose by another 8%,” noted Maksym Hopka, an analyst with the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UAC), in a comment to RBC-Ukraine.
Twenty years of monopoly
Turkey has controlled three-quarters of Ukraine’s tomato imports over the past twenty years.
Tomatoes from Ukraine’s southern neighbor reliably cover the off-season for local wholesalers and retail chains, offering advantages in price, size, and efficient logistics.
"The vegetables have a consistent appearance," explained Daryna Palaguta, director of the fresh produce category management department at the VARUS chain, to RBC-Ukraine.
However, experts believe it is incorrect to say that chains deliberately favor Turkish tomatoes.
Ukrainian producers are forced to compete not just with Turkish farmers, but with an entire state-backed support system that gives Turkish vegetables an aggressive price advantage on the shelves of Ukrainian supermarkets.
When Ukraine joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2008, it took on strict obligations.
In contrast, Turkey is the world’s most active user of trade defense measures, regularly initiating investigations against imports to protect its own market.
While Ukrainian producers struggle for the physical survival of their businesses, Turkish farmers operate within a system of long-standing state support.
Through the Turkish government agency for small and medium-sized business development, KOSGEB, and the Ministry of Trade, producers receive grants for the implementation of new technologies, energy efficiency, and product certification. This deepens the structural inequality with Ukrainian producers.
Moving Upward: From Trade Wars to Technological Transformation
Ukrainian producers need not passive protection, but systemic support and long-term sales contracts. All of this is provided in conjunction with support for the modernization of production facilities.
Anti-dumping duties, the government’s 220 million hryvnias for vegetable storage facilities and greenhouses, and grants for processing through “eRobota” and the “National Cashback” program for vegetables are already laying the groundwork for change.
However, this is not enough without a new market model. The key to the industry’s development lies in the transition from selling raw materials to deep processing and products with higher added value.
The future of greenhouse vegetable production is determined not by the amount of subsidies, but by the shift from supplying seasonal raw materials to deep processing—canned goods, frozen products, and functional ingredients—which yield higher margins and open up export markets.
This is discussed in an article by RBC-Ukraine.
Tomato prices are falling in Ukraine.
Over the past year, prices for meat and meat products in Ukraine have risen by up to 45% in some areas. Beef remains the most expensive—its price continues to hover at record levels. Experts predict that by the end of winter, meat prices could rise by another 5–7%.
Inflation in Ukraine: prices rose by 0.4% in November.
New potatoes have become significantly more expensive: prices nearly doubled in just a few days.
