The European Commission's proposed tariffs on Ukrainian egg imports into the European Union would force producers in Ukraine to cut output or search for new markets, Reuters reported, citing local poultry breeders on Thursday.

The commission spokesman said on Wednesday the tariffs would be introduced within the next two weeks after a previously agreed annual threshold for those imports was reached.

The EU has set limits for certain agricultural imports from Ukraine after free-trade access, granted to help the country's economy following Russia's invasion in 2022, angered farmers in the EU and prompted a wave of rural protests this year.

"If a decision is made..., Ukrainian products will lose their competitiveness in the EU market, which will inevitably lead to a reduction in exports," Serhiy Karpenko, executive director of Ukraine's union of poultry breeders, told Reuters.

He said the duty would make trade unprofitable for producers and force them to reduce output or increase exports to other markets.

Karpenko said finding new markets "is currently extremely difficult due to logistics problems, a significant rise in price and limited opportunities for exporters to be accredited."

The producers' union said reduced export volumes will definitely have a negative impact on the Ukrainian trade balance and foreign currency earnings, as well as worsen the financial situation of producers.

Ukrainian agriculture has been hard hit by the Russian invasion. The Kyiv School of Economics estimates that the total value of destroyed agricultural assets since the beginning of the invasion at $10.3 billion.