Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Everyday Ukrainians pay hundreds of hryvnias more for fresh vegetables and fruits while the State Food and Consumer Service delays perishable products from Poland at the western border. Multi-day delays, “selective” laboratory tests, repeated sampling, and blocking customs clearance lead to spoiled goods, disrupted international deliveries, and significant financial losses for European businesses. As a result, not only are deliveries of quality products to Ukraine at risk, but also the trust of one of our state's key strategic partners.
One example of such practice is the Polish company OLVAR SP. Z O.O., which supplies fresh vegetables and fruits to Ukraine. At the end of 2025 the shipment under customs declaration No. 25UA209170111513U5 was under state control for more than two days, and the shipment under customs declaration No. 25UA209170111064U0 for almost four days. Similar delays were recorded for other shipments of the company, resulting in spoiled perishable products and disrupted international deliveries.
Head of the State Food and Consumer Service – Serhiy Tkachuk, and the head of the Main Department of the State Food and Consumer Service in Lviv Oblast – Volodymyr Bilyk, effectively turned state control into a tool of systemic pressure on Polish business. Multi-day delays of perishable products, repeated sampling, long laboratory tests, and blocking customs clearance led to disrupted international deliveries, spoiled goods, and significant financial losses for Polish companies operating with the Ukrainian market.
In each case the scheme of officials was the same. After the vehicle arrived, samples were taken and sent for laboratory testing. Until the laboratory conclusion was obtained, customs clearance was not completed, and vehicles with perishable products remained under state control. As a result, clearance times increased from several hours to several days.
The largest losses for the company occurred under declaration No. 25UA209170106211U1. After staying under state control for more than three days, 89,52% of the goods lost their market properties and became unsuitable for sale. Almost the entire cargo was lost even before it was handed over to the Ukrainian buyer. For perishable goods, three days of downtime effectively meant destroying the product.
In May 2026 the delays continued. Under customs declaration No. 26UA209000622904U5 phytosanitary control was completed 21 in May, but a permit to complete the food control was granted only 26 in May. The vehicle remained under state control for more than four days after arriving at the customs post and more than five days since the goods were imported into Ukraine.
Another case involved customs declaration No. 26UA209000644636U6. After one type of control was completed, officials re-took samples of the same product within another type of control. The repeated sampling led to another wait for a laboratory conclusion and another extension of clearance times. Perishable goods continued to remain at the border.
The documents contain dozens of episodes of multi-day delays for OLVAR SP. Z O.O. shipments. Some shipments were under state control for more than two days, others four or even five days. One shipment was almost entirely lost — 89,52% of the product became unsuitable for sale. For a company supplying fresh vegetables and fruits, such clearance times mean not quality control but direct financial losses.
Currently, we have already filed a complaint with the controlling authorities with clear demands: to investigate whether there was a justified suspicion of non-compliance of the cargo after their inspection, organoleptic, physical, or chemical analyses that could have justified sampling, the legality of the baseless retention of goods under state control and the reasons for the delays in completing customs clearance for declarations No. 25UA209170111513U5, No. 25UA209170111064U0, No. 25UA209170106211U1 and No. 26UA209000622904U5, and the legality of decisions to complete the food control only after obtaining laboratory results for these declarations.
When Polish products simply sit under state control for days without obvious grounds instead of reaching Ukrainian stores, a question arises: is state control becoming a tool to create artificial obstacles for European business? As a result, losses are borne not only by the Polish importer but also by Ukraine, which risks losing the trust of its strategic partners.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Як перевірки Держпродспоживслужби призвели до подорожчання продуктів харчування для населення? Як затягування митних оглядів підриває відносини з ЄС". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: NGO "NON-STOP".