The Ukrainian Agri Council including the agrarian community initiated an appeal to the European authorities regarding the support and extension of preferential trade conditions between Ukraine and the EU.

On behalf of the Ukrainian National Agrarian Forum, which includes leading agrarian associations, corresponding letters have been sent to the chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament, members of the Council on Agriculture and Fisheries of the EU, as well as to the members of the Union of the two large agricultural  organizations COPA and COGECA, which represent the strongest interest of European farmers.

Earlier, the chair of the UAC Andrii Dykun met the chair of the Committee on Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities Activity of the European Parliament, Norbert Linz, to discuss this issue.

According to Mr. Norbert Linz, the absolute majority of the members of the European Parliament support the Ukraine’s course of liberalization of the EU market, despite all the difficulties for neighboring countries such as Poland.

Currently, almost the only safe corridor for exporting agricultural products has become the borders with EU countries, including  transit purposes. The recreation of new logistics routes was one of the critical factors in the significant increase in agricultural exports to EU countries. The volume of delivered agri-food products to the EU tripled, and the share of the EU in external deliveries of agricultural products in 2022 reached a record 55%, taking into account the likely transit.

However, the whole 2022, the export of agriproducts decreased by $4.3 billion or by 15.5%. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the fact that Ukrainian agricultural exports in 2022 were formed due to record agricultural production in 2021.

The available economic facts and objective expectations testify to the inevitable reduction of both the production and export potential of the agricultural sector of Ukraine already this year. According to the results of 2022, the volume of agricultural products decreased by 30%. According to the available forecasts of the UNAF members, the volume of grain production in Ukraine in 2023 will be about 34-35 million tons, which is 37% less than in 2022 and 60% less than in 2021. Also, the negative trends of production reduction will persist in other sectors of the agrarian sectors.

"The provision of support from the EU and the introduction of a preferential trade regime are certainly tangible for the agricultural sector of Ukraine. At the same time, appropriate measures in wartime conditions, unfortunately, remain for the industry mainly a resuscitation tool. Stopping or limiting resuscitation measures in any form will accelerate the decline of the agricultural industry with all the adverse socio-economic consequences," the appeal reads.

UNAF member organizations are confident that the deliberate introduction of measures will negatively impact Ukraine’s production and export potential and may also carry geopolitical risks. After all, russia has already reached the 1st position in the world in the export of wheat and sunflower oil this season.

Considering the abovementioned, agrarians kindly ask to maintain and extend the preferential trade conditions between Ukraine and the EU at least til the end of 2024, to prevent the deepening of the crisis in the agricultural sector of Ukraine and the deterioration of global food security.