UCAB and Farm Europe discussed the competitiveness of the agricultural sectors of Ukraine and the EU in the context of Ukraine’s future EU membership

On September 15, the third online dialogue between UCAB and Farm Europe took place, dedicated to finding a common path towards the economic and environmental efficiency of the agricultural sector of the enlarged EU.

The participants discussed the future model of the agri-food system of the enlarged EU, in which the Ukrainian agricultural sector can become a key to its competitiveness and productivity. Farm Europe experts presented an analytical study demonstrating how Ukrainian agricultural production can help the European agricultural sector restore productivity while fulfilling commitments to climate neutrality and decarbonization.

In particular, UCAB representatives informed their European colleagues about the current state of the Ukrainian agricultural sector, especially the liquidity crisis caused by limited export routes during the harvest and export period. Currently, the export capacity deficit is about 2 million tons per month, which jeopardizes the financing of upcoming sowing campaigns and the preservation of the sector’s long-term solvency and productivity.

Following the dialogue, the parties agreed to continue their joint work on assessing the cost structure of the Ukrainian and European agricultural sectors, taking into account current prices and future costs associated with integration into the European market. The developed results should serve as a basis for further competitiveness analysis and the elaboration of joint proposals for the successful integration of the Ukrainian agricultural sector into the EU.