Don’t kill the hen that lays golden eggs: EU-Ukraine poultry trade and its importance for Ukraine’s economy and the EU market

Ukrainian Agribusiness Club, together with UCABEvent agency, invites you to the seventh online discussion, dedicated to the EU – Ukraine trade in poultry, a major agricultural item in Ukrainian exports and a product singled out as sensitive by the European agricultural sector. 

• November 29, 2024
• 11:00 - 12:30 (Kyiv time)/10:00-11:30 (CET  time)
• English

Access is free of charge: https://forms.gle/fFMKap2fec7qtWeZ6

Agenda

11:00 - 11:05
Welcoming word

Alex Lissitsa, President of Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB)

11:05 - 11:20 Panel Discussion

Moderator: Nazar Bobitski, Head of the UCAB EU office

Kick-off remarks

11:20 - 12:20 Panel Discussion
Panelists:

• Taras Vysotskyi, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine
• Olga Shevchenko, food safety expert, former Chairman, Ukraine State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection
• Oleksandra Avramenko, chair, European Integration Committee, UCAB
• Paul-Henri Lava, Deputy Secretary General, European Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade (AVEC)
• Manon Dubois, Policy Advisor, poultry sector, European Federation of Farmers and Agricooperatives (COPA COGECA)
• Svitlana Kataitseva, Head of Export Department "Agro-Oven" (a Ukrainian poultry company)

12:20 - 12:30 Q&As from an online audience.

12:20 - 12:30 - Alex Lissitsa, President of UCAB, concluding remarks.

Context:

Poultry is a major item in Ukraine’s agricultural exports worldwide and to the EU market. In 2023, around 41% (173,2 thousand tons) of total Ukraine’s poultry exports went to the EU, with  the Netherlands (58,9%) and Slovakia (31%) as key EU importers. In the third-country markets Saudi Arabia (27,3%) and Turkiye (9,2%) have been the main consumers of Ukraine’s poultry exports.

At the same time, the EU is a major global producer (11,6 mln t) and exporter (1,8 mln t in 2023) of poultry products. Major importers of EU poultry meat from third countries are the UK (35%), Ghana (8%), and Congo (5%).

In the EU, poultry is an agricultural product that has historically been presented as ‘sensitive’ by the European agricultural sector, ensuring that European poultry producers are shielded from otherwise relatively open EU trade policy with their international partners.

This partly may explain the reason why the European Commission included poultry into the list of products which were made subject to specific safeguard measures under the EU Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs) for Ukraine, a package of temporary trade liberalization measures designed to support Ukraine’s economy at the time of war.

Our discussion will focus on the pro et contra arguments regarding this decision, its potential effects on Ukraine’s poultry sector and poultry consumption in the EU, and what conclusions the stakeholders should draw for the longer-term EU-Ukraine trade arrangements that will come after the lapse of the current ATMs package in June 2025.

Specifically, our panelists will be invited to answer the following set of questions:  

• Ukrainian and European poultry sectors: a short overview,  trade flows, the importance for the EU and Ukraine.
• Exports of poultry to the EU in 2022-2023 and its impact on the EU poultry sector, EU consumption of poultry and product prices.
• In line with the EU or not: does imported Ukrainian poultry meet EU standards on food safety as well as modes of animal welfare?
• How do you see longer-term arrangements for EU-Ukraine trade after the ATM expiry applicable for the poultry sector?