A number of EU agricultural producers say Ukrainian agro-products jeopardise their survival
In May 2022, the EU decided to temporarily suspend customs duties on Ukrainian imports.
Six European agricultural producers have spoken out about the threat allegedly posed by Ukrainian agricultural products. They have published a joint declaration calling on them to limit imports of Ukrainian products into the EU so as not to jeopardise the "survival" of European producers, Le Figaro has said.
The declaration says that the decision in May 2022 to suspend customs duties on Ukrainian imports to EU countries jeopardises the survival of many agricultural producers in Europe.
We fear that if this mechanism remains in its current form, without adaptation, the survival of European producers as a whole will be jeopardised," the document said.
In particular, they propose to introduce more thorough phytosanitary control on the border with our state, as well as to actively promote the passage of Ukrainian agricultural products through European countries further, to the destinations of the goods.
They also propose to introduce import thresholds for these products, based on the level of average values of 2021-2022, so that everything above, can only pass through the EU before exporting to third countries.
It should be noted that Ukraine exported 67.5 million tonnes of agro-industrial products of various types in 2023, which was 15% higher than the previous year. According to the Ukrainian Agrarian Business Club, export revenue in 2023 was $21.9bn, which is 8% less than in 2022.