Chinese garlic currently dominates Ukraine’s domestic market, accounting for about 80% of sales, while locally produced garlic holds only around 20%, according to Yulianna Mussa, President of the Ukrainian Garlic Producers Association and representative of the Dutch garlic and onion growing company Gourmet, ProAgro Group reports.
According to her, the situation is largely driven by rising production costs while global garlic prices remain relatively stable. As a result, importing Chinese garlic is often cheaper than producing it locally, while consumers tend to prioritize price over the origin of the product.
“If the situation with global production does not change, the garlic sector could disappear altogether — and this concerns not only Ukraine but the entire European continent. In some countries this has already happened,” Mussa said.
She noted that producers in the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Croatia and Romania are also concerned about this trend. In many cases, production costs have already reached the level of market prices. However, state support programs allow European farmers to keep their products on supermarket shelves.
“If they stop doing this, they will lose their shelf space forever. And then Chinese garlic could dominate the global market,” she added.
Forecasts for 2026 already point to potential global overproduction of garlic.
According to Mussa, if China significantly increases its output while countries such as Egypt, India, Spain, Argentina, Brazil and the United States continue expanding their production areas by 5–15% annually, supply will grow faster than consumption.
Therefore, Ukrainian consumers are encouraged to support domestic producers by purchasing locally grown garlic, which could help preserve the sector at least at its current level.
Earlier it was reported that potato trading activity increased in Ukraine at the end of February as wholesalers and retail chains boosted purchases amid rising demand and limited supply of high-quality products.
