Germany to back Ukraine in revising quotas for agri-exports to EU – minister

Minister for Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Roman Leshchenko, has said Germany will support Ukraine in revising quotas for exports of agricultural products to the European Union member states.

The minister made the comment following a meeting with Uwe Feiler, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture.

"Germany highly appreciates our cooperation in the agricultural sector and sees Ukraine as a powerful partner with significant investment opportunities. As a result of our bilateral meeting, we agreed as regards [Germany's] support in revising the unfair quotas for the exports of agricultural products to the EU," Leshchenko wrote on Telegram on March 22.

Read alsoEU resumes poultry trade with UkraineThe sides also agreed to intensify cooperation in the field of the European Green Deal and Ukraine's integration into the European statistical database in the agricultural sector, Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN).

In addition, the German Agrarian Ministry will provide expert support for the reform of the Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry in line with the European model.

Background

In 2020, the European Union expanded quotas for the import of Ukrainian chicken (from 19,200 tonnes to 20,000 tonnes) and eggs (from 2,700 tonnes to 3,000 tonnes).

As of March 17, 2021, Ukraine fully exhausted the annual quotas for duty-free supplies of grape and apple juice (annual volume of 20,000 tonnes), honey (6,000 tonnes), and processed tomatoes (10,000 tonnes) to the EU countries within the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.