Trade war Republic of Moldova – Ukraine. How Kiev responds after Chisinau banned imports of poultry meat from Ukraine
Trade tensions between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine are intensifying after Chisinau banned the import of poultry meat from Ukraine. Kiev is threatening possible “retaliatory measures” if the problem is not resolved quickly.
Moldova banned the import of poultry meat from Ukraine. PHOTO: archive
Attempts to resolve the deadlock related to the ban on the import of Ukrainian poultry meat into the Republic of Moldova have so far produced no results. Moreover, the situation seems to be getting tense, and the authorities in Kiev are analyzing possible “response measures”, after the dialogue held for over three weeks failed to unblock the Moldovan market for Ukrainian poultry meat producers, reports IPN.
The Republic of Moldova has temporarily suspended, starting January 26, 2026, the import of poultry meat and feed from Ukraine. The reason for the restrictions is the discovery of metronidazole in poultry feed, a broad-spectrum antibiotic banned in Ukraine, EU countries and the Republic of Moldova for productive animals.
On February 12, after Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu's visit to Kyiv, Chisinau and Kyiv agreed to establish a working group to solve the problem, which includes the Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry from the Republic of Moldova, Ludmila Catlabuga, and the general director of the National Food Safety Agency (ANSA), Radu Musteata.
Ukraine said it has confidence in the quality of its products, arguing that this is confirmed by stable deliveries to the European market. Ukrainian Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, Alexei Sobolev, informed the Moldovan authorities that he is ready to provide additional guarantees and conduct tests in accredited laboratories to unlock exports.
The online meeting in which the subject was addressed was preceded by a letter from the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Taras Kacika, dated February 6 and addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova and the Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization, Eugeniu Osmochescu, as well as to the Minister of Agriculture, Ludmila Catlabuga.
In the letter, the Ukrainian official warned that Ukraine could introduce a retaliatory embargo on Moldovan products, citing the provisions of the Moldovan-Ukrainian Free Trade Agreement.
Kacika did not elaborate on what measures could be taken, however, IPN sources within Ukrainian trade associations claim that “an equivalent measure could be Kiev's ban on the import of Moldovan wine products“.
Moldovan exports to Ukraine include alcohol worth $30.7 million and grapes worth $8 million. At the same time, Ukraine exported 18.4 thousand tons of chicken meat to Moldova in 2025, worth 32.7 million dollars, which makes trade tensions have a significant impact on both sides.
