April 14, 2023

 

European farmers concerned over unrestrained import of Ukraine's poultry products

 

European poultry producers are concerned over the influx of Ukrainian poultry products into the region, after the EU lifted import quotas to aid the war-torn country, Poultry World reported.

 

Ukraine exported 94% more broiler meat to EU member states in the first eight weeks of the year than the previous year. The Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade in EU Countries (AVEC) said a total of 32,306 tonnes entered the EU internal market. The frozen broiler meat segment increased by 171% to 16,663 tonnes, while the chilled segment increased by 40% to 12,439 tonnes.

 

The increase in egg imports from Ukraine nearly overshadows the increase in meat imports. After the first eight weeks of 2023, egg imports into the EU totaled 4,457 tonnes, up 1,370% from the previous year. This figure includes 3,317 tonnes of table eggs, an increase of 2,570% over the first eight weeks of 2022.

 

The new statistical data sparked heated debate among some European poultry businesses about whether Ukrainian poultry exports threaten local market dynamics.

 

The EU lifted quotas on Ukrainian meat and eggs in June 2022 to help the Ukrainian economy, which is suffering as a result of Russia's invasion.

 

Paweł Podstawka, chairman of the managing committee of the Polish Poultry Meat Promotion Fund,  said this resulted in the poultry markets of some European countries flooded with cheap imported poultry meat and eggs.

 

He said the issue is that Ukrainian producers are exempt from the quality and animal welfare standards imposed on EU producers, so they can produce food at a much lower cost than they can.

 

Dariusz Goszczyski, president of Poland's National Poultry Council-Chamber of Commerce, echoed these concerns, adding that nearly all broiler meat imports come from a single Ukrainian company, MHP.

 

Goszczyski said 700 trucks loaded with meat have entered the EU monthly since June 2022. Some of them went to the Netherlands, where this company has plants, and the meat was repackaged and distributed throughout the EU at prices that they could not afford.

 

-      Poultry World