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Despite the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine's retail, food processing, and food service sectors are functioning. The retail industry is working to maintain an assortment of imported products.

South Africa boasts one of Africa's most developed and diverse economies, supported by a robust commercial sector and sophisticated distribution networks.

In April 2025, Ukraine eliminated all exceptions to the enforcement of food safety regulations for commercial imports which were put in place at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war.

No new bilateral certificates were negotiated from the second half of 2024 through the first half of 2025. The Export Certificate Matrix includes only bilaterally negotiated certificates.

The FAIRS Annual Country Report provides a comprehensive summary of the rules and regulations governing the import of food and agricultural products to South Africa.

This report has been updated to include the latest information relevant to exporting to South Africa. The Food and Agricultural Import Regulation and Standards (FAIRS) Certificate Report provides a comprehensive list of the main certificates required for exporting plants, animals, and animal products to South Africa.

This report lists all official controls on food and agricultural products by commodity description and HS Code.

Ukraine is now able to issue electronic phytosanitary certificates through the International Plant Protection Convention’s (IPPC) ePhyto Solution system. This will decrease transactional costs for Ukrainian exporters and increase transparency.

Despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine's retail, food processing, and food service sectors are functioning. The retail sector is working to maintain an assortment of imported products. Fish and other seafood, beef, nuts, food ingredients, whiskey, beer, snacks, and pet food imports are growing.

Import permits for genetically engineered (GE) corn from the United States are once again issued by South Africa. After a mid-summer drought that caused a 22 percent drop in production, South Africa needs to import corn to supplement domestic production.

Ukraine introduced procedures for the approval of minimum export prices for selected bulk commodities, including grains, oilseeds, vegetable oils and meals, walnuts, and honey.

The South African Department of Agriculture is in the process of finalizing requirements related to “control management systems,” which may include additional requirements of documentation to support label claims for imported food products.