Ukrainian poultry products have an insignificant share and have no impact on the European market

Despite the increase in poultry exports to the European Union in 2023, the share of Ukrainian exports in total EU consumption of poultry meat will be only 1.6%, and in egg consumption – only 0.8%. This does not actually affect the European poultry market.

This was reported to AgroPortal.ua by the Executive Director of the Union of Poultry Breeders of Ukraine Sergiy Karpenko.

According to the Union of Poultry Breeders of Ukraine, last year Ukraine increased exports of poultry products to the EU countries, both meat and eggs. In 2023, exports of poultry meat to the EU increased by 23% compared to 2022 and amounted to 171 thousand tons. Exports of eggs and egg products doubled to 39.6 thousand tons.

“Please note that, according to the latest Eurostat data, there are 4.2 million Ukrainians in the EU countries with temporary protection status and, according to various estimates, up to 2 million more who have not applied for such status. Thus, the number of consumers in European countries actually increased by 6 million in 2022. Relatively speaking, they consume additional volumes of Ukrainian exports, balancing European market balances to the values that existed before the start of full trade liberalization,” says Sergii Karpenko.

The expert explains that the issue of poultry exports has been a source of dissatisfaction among European producers since the very beginning of the EU-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement, despite the fact that the quota volumes were much lower than the amount of products exported over the past two years.

“There have been constant accusations of Ukraine’s non-compliance with production requirements, ineffective state veterinary and sanitary control, non-tariff methods of restraining exports through strengthening veterinary control at the borders and introducing additional laboratory tests of Ukrainian products, and media campaigns calling for not buying poultry products from our country. However, the situation is much more prosaic: European producers are losing competition to Ukrainian poultry products and are protecting the domestic market by all means, having an additional argument to demand subsidies and additional business benefits,” says Sergiy Karpenko.

Tags: EU, chicken, Ukraine