According to the results of 2025, Ukraine remained a prominent player in the international sugar market, despite the reduction in export volumes. During the year, domestic producers exported 463.7 thousand tons of sugar, receiving foreign exchange earnings of $ 222 million.

This was reported by the industry association "Ukrsugar", which published detailed statistics on the structure and geography of exports. The data show that Ukrainian sugar in 2025 was mainly focused on markets outside the European Union.

In particular, 73% of the total exported volume was directed to the World market, while the share of EU countries was only 27%. For comparison, in 2024 the ratio between these directions was different - 60% of exports fell to world markets and 40% to the European Union, which emphasizes the change in the logistics and trade priorities of the industry.

Among the largest importers of Ukrainian sugar in 2025, Lebanon became the leader, accounting for 15% of total exports. Bulgaria took second place with a share of 14%, and North Macedonia took third place, where 8% of supplies were sent.

The list of key buyers also included Libya with a share of 7% of exports, as well as Syria and Turkey, each of which provided 6% in the structure of foreign sales of Ukrainian sugar. Such geography indicates the growing role of the markets of the Middle East and the Balkan region.

Yana Kavushevska, Head of the Ukrsugar Association, noted that in 2025 the industry was able to maintain high export activity, despite a decrease in total exports by 38% compared to 2024. It was in 2024 that Ukraine set a historical record for sugar exports - 746 thousand tons.

According to Kavushevska, the key reason for the reduction in exports was restrictions on the supply of Ukrainian sugar to the European Union. As a result, exports to the EU in 2025 decreased by 59% year-on-year and amounted to 123 thousand tons, which significantly affected the overall structure of the industry's external sales.