August 28, 2007

Ukraine's meat imports to fall as import ban extended

Despite sharply higher meat imports for the first seven months of the year, Ukraine's meat imports are expected to fall overall for this year due to an extension of a government ban, the Ukrainian News Digest reported.

Ukraine's imports of meat are expected to fall 13.8 percent to 200,000 tonnes in 2007 from 232,000 tonnes a year earlier, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy, Petro Verbitskiy, told local media.

The country imported 126,000 tonnes of meat for the first seven months of 2007, up 34 percent on-year.

Currently, the country's regional authorities are trying to enforce the government's ban on meat imports. Although the Cabinet of Ministers order is effective until September 1, local meat companies continue to import meat on a give-and-take basis.

The Cabinet is considering an extension of the restrictions till December 31, 2007.

Meat accounted for one-fifth of Ukraine's EUR 2.3 billion worth of agricultural imports in 2006.

Meanwhile, a number of Ukrainian packing houses may be allowed to export milk and meat to Russia, the Russian Agrarian Policy Ministry informed Ukrinform.

Russia currently permits meat imports from 24 packing houses and 23 dairy producers from Ukraine.

Ukraine exported US$360 million worth of products to Russia during the first seven months of the year.