Andrii Dykun, Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC), took part in the 10th European Congress of Agricultural Managers (Europejski Kongres Menadżerów Agrobiznesu) held in Poland. During the panel discussion dedicated to the competitiveness of European agriculture on the global stage, the interaction of Ukrainian, Polish and European farmers was discussed.

Andriy Dykun emphasized that Ukraine hopes to join the EU not to export products, but because of common democratic values. “We want to join the EU not to export our goods, but because we have chosen the democratic path, support European values and are similar in many ways to European countries, including Poland,” he said.

He also emphasized that Ukraine will not compete with European farmers. “In the future, we will export no more than 20% of our products to the EU market. Therefore, our task is to partner and strengthen each other, not to compete,” said the Chairman of the UAC.

He emphasized the effective cooperation between Ukraine and Poland in the dairy sector. He noted that a significant amount of Polish dairy products is available on the shelves of Ukrainian stores, which is the result of good communication between farmers.

Regarding the readiness of Ukrainian farmers for European standards, Dykun emphasized that it is first necessary to clearly define the date of Ukraine's accession to the EU and the future Common Agricultural Policy. “Firstly, we need to know exactly when we will join the EU and what the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will be at that time,” he explained. He also emphasized the need for a transitional period for Ukrainian farmers and stressed that a single regulation for all markets was impossible. “If an agricultural producer sells products to Africa and not to the EU, should he follow the EU rules?” the UAC Chairman raised the question.

According to Andrii Dykun, about 1.3 million farmers in Poland live mainly on EU subsidies. Despite the difficult conditions of the war, the Ukrainian agricultural sector remains competitive without government subsidies, unlike European farmers.

The decisions developed at the congress will be passed on to European politicians to further shape the agricultural policy of Poland and the EU.