January 17, 2014

Ukraine removes poultry product import licensing permit

Beginning January 1, 2014, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has cancelled import licensing of poultry, poultry fat and lard imports.

According to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the licensing was automatic and non-restrictive although constituted an additional bureaucratic obstacle for trade in these products.

An annual review of products subject to import licensing conducted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine resulted in cancellation of licensing for poultry, poultry fat and lard. This cancellation follows from Decree 950 adopted on December 25, 2013 and officially published in the media.

Import licensing for these products was introduced in the middle of 2011 for better agricultural policy planning and food security. In practice licensed volumes had little relevance to actual imports, as importers generally requested high volumes to simplify paperwork.

FAS Kyiv investigated the policy after introduction, and reported that importers did not find it restrictive, but noted that it was an additional bureaucratic step and redundant procedure used in parallel to veterinary import permits issued by the State Veterinary and Phytosanitary Service.

Access of US products to Ukraine's market will be simplified with the cancellation of import licensing.