Six major farmers’ associations in Europe have signed an appeal demanding that the European Commission’s decision on Ukrainian goods, which they consider too liberal, be reversed. The appeal was published by Copa Cogeca, which claims to represent the interests of 22 million farmers and their families and 22,000 agricultural co-operatives, reports
As a reminder, the European Commission has extended the special preferential trade regime with Ukraine for a year, but has set special conditions and safeguards for certain goods. In order to “stabilise imports at the level of average volumes in 2022-2023”, the European Union has come up with an “emergency braking” mechanism for three products: poultry, eggs and sugar. In practice, this means setting a quota at the level of the average export volume in 2022-2023, exceeding which will result in the automatic application of an import tariff to the products. This decision must be approved by the European Parliament and the EU Council.
These measures are considered insufficient by farmers’ unions.
“It is these volumes that have caused the current situation of producers in the EU. There are no restrictions for grain and honey, despite Ukraine’s significant production capacities, which leaves these industries under the influence of possible decisions by the Commission in cases of “extreme necessity”. But we are already facing such an extreme situation,”
– say the farmers.
They argue that the green corridors for Ukrainian goods were created primarily so that Ukraine could export them to the Middle East and Africa without hindrance. But instead, these goods end up on EU markets.
“Farmers in Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia are now selling their produce at prices around 40% below the standard market price – if they can sell it at all. What was initially seen as an acceptable temporary situation has now become a serious problem, with thousands of farms on the verge of collapse. Moreover, this issue has started to affect other Member States such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria, where grain, poultry and sugar producers are under considerable pressure,”
– the statement said.
In addition, Ukrainian goods do not meet European eco- and social standards, European farmers say, which also reduces their price.
Ahead of the European Parliament’s consideration of the Commission’s decision, farmers’ unions do not voice specific proposals, but insist on tough measures:
“The decisions to be taken by the Commission, the Member States and the European Parliament over the next few days on the renewal of the Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine are of utmost strategic importance and will have profound consequences. The European agricultural community cannot be satisfied with mere statements. We expect clear measures for all affected sectors.”
The preferential trade regime and its opponents
Prior to this announcement, many, but not all, EU members did not like the quota-free imports of Ukrainian products to the EU, which was in effect in 2022-2023. In particular, Eastern European countries demanded the introduction of import duties on Ukrainian goods, citing unfair competition. The ministers of agriculture of Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia sent a letter to the European Commission asking for action, stating that cheaper agricultural products from Ukraine were absorbing their markets.
The Ukrainian side tried to reach an agreement with the ‘problematic’ countries.” In particular, on 26 January, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution that improves the rules for exporting certain types of agricultural products. According to the resolution, a company may be excluded from the list of verified agricultural entities if it violates these rules.
When preparing the decision, the European Commission also considered special mechanisms for each individual country, which would have been to stop the export of Ukrainian goods to a particular national market if this product oversaturates it. The current decision of the EC looks even tougher than expected, and it restores quotas for some Ukrainian products, even if they are at the average level of Ukrainian exports. As you can see, even this decision does not suit European farmers.