The European Commission has resumed work towards recognition of equivalence of the Ukrainian system of official control and certification of cereal seed with the European Union requirements. It provides potential opportunity to export Ukrainian seeds to the EU countries.

It was written by Olha Trofimtseva, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine on her Facebook page: ‘We received a confirmation letter from the European Commission on the implementation by Ukraine of all the conditions to export our cereal seed to the EU market. The final resolution is expected by the end of this year’, said Mrs. Deputy Minister.

It bears reminding that the procedure for recognizing equivalence of seed certification system was launched in 2011. In 2015 the relevant audit was conducted. Report on the results of this audit was presented at the meeting of the EU Standing Committee of Cereal Seed on September 28, 2015 where Ukraine received a positive assessment of system of official control and certification of cereal seeds and their equivalence with EU requirements. However, due to elimination of the State Inspectorate of Agriculture and creation of the new authority for certification of cereal seeds at the end of 2016, this procedure has been suspended.

Representatives of the leading seed companies received positively the news on recovering compliance procedures. ‘Ukrainian creel seed can be competitive in Europe that will enable to resume its own selection and seed production as well as bring quality of seed to the European standards’.

For LLC ‘Euralis Semences Ukraine’, the seed plant, which has one of the best equipment and, respectively, the high quality of pre- sowing preparation it's a great opportunity to export seeds to the European countries", said Volodymyrr Mokriyenko, Key Account Manager of Euralis Semences Ukraine.

‘Ukrainian party has fulfilled all steps so that seed the Ukrainian cereal seed was recognized in Europe. Today it is very favorable outcome for the market since the companies and specialized associations have been doing their best to facilitate this process for many years. For our company – it is an opportunity to enter new markets’, -commented Yevheniia Andrushchenko, Head of Legal Department of the LLC ‘Maisadour Semences Ukraine’.