FX.co ★ EU allocates too low quotas on Ukrainian produce

Ukraine’s ministry of agricultural policy for EU integration made a downbeat press release. On the plus side, Ukrainian agricultural companies supplied record big volumes of produce to the EU. On the flip side, producers almost exhausted annual export quotas on honey, sugar, and salt. According to the official data, agricultural companies have nearly run out of a quota on honey supplies to the EU by January 11, 2017. A quota on sugar exports has been 64% used. A quota on grape and apple juice has been 78% used. Besides, a quota on poultry has nearly come to an end. The EU imposes quotas on poultry imports on a quarterly basis. So, this one for the first quarter of 2017 has been almost used.

Interestingly, this is not the first time when Ukrainian agricultural producers have encountered such problems. Experts attribute this trouble to low quotas which the EU allocates for tax-free imports from Ukraine. “The valid free trade agreement between Ukraine and the EU does not provide Ukrainian companies with full access to the EU market”, said Yuriy Kosyuk, the Ukrainian billionaire and owner of the domestic largest agricultural holding. Another Ukrainian entrepreneur who heads a big poultry company stated that low tax-free quotas introduced for Ukraine by the EU confirms that the EU authorities put a high priority on European producers. They do not care about ailing Ukrainian companies.