2024-02-01 18:22:02
Ukrainian chicken flies into the feathers of French farmers. This is one of the messages that recurs among their demands: poultry from Ukraine would constitute unfair competition to French white meat. On Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron himself announced that he wanted to “regulate” imports of “poultry which was much cheaper coming from Ukraine”.
If the discontent of farmers against Ukrainian chicken has found a significant echo thanks to the demonstrations of recent weeks, these demands are not new. They have as their starting point a regulation adopted by the council of the EU on May 24, 2022. The latter establishes the temporary liberalization of trade with Ukraine and in particular suspends all customs duties concerning imports of agricultural products. The objective: “to significantly support the Ukrainian economy” in the context of the war with Russia.
A chicken that “advances masked”?
When it comes to direct imports of poultry into France, Ukraine is far behind other European countries, such as the Netherlands. The flow is increasing but “we must not take this into account”, according to Yann Nédélec, director of Anvol (National Interprofessional Broiler Poultry Association).
Indeed, the structure of imports hides the real origin of the meat: “the Netherlands, for example, imports much more chicken than they produce. When we import this way into France, it is in reality Ukrainian, Brazilian or Thai meat. » Because “The indication of origin is not obligatory in processed products. For example, it can only be indicated that the product does not come from the European Union,” explains the director of Anvol.
An observation shared by Jean-Christophe Bureau, economics professor at AgroParisTech: “France mainly imports from Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands. But the origins do not mean much because these imports can be in processed form (cuts, chicken charcuterie, ready meals) and it is very likely that there is a significant proportion of Brazilian and Ukrainian chicken which is simply processed. in the Netherlands and Belgium. »
A more attractive chicken for manufacturers
As for the European Union, “for several years, Ukraine has become the second supplier after Brazil. There are cross-trades, but the EU now imports 200,000 tonnes of Ukrainian chicken (and exports 75,000 tonnes),” explains Jean-Christophe Bureau. These imports have doubled in just over a year.
It must be said that Ukrainian chicken is very attractive. “At wholesale prices, it costs 3 euros per kilo, where a kilo of French chicken costs 7 euros,” notes Yann Nédélec. A big advantage for collective catering, for whom this Ukrainian chicken is mainly intended, and “which has little concern for the origin or the taste qualities”, adds the professor to AgroParisTech.
This price difference is explained by differences in production and mandatory standards in France. More than 40,000 poultry raised, a French operation must, for example, obtain an authorization, issued by the prefect following a public inquiry and an impact study. “A Ukrainian industrial chicken is produced in forty days, a label or organic chicken between seventy and one hundred days,” explains Jean-Christophe Bureau.
What are the direct consequences for French farmers?
According to the French poultry industry, competition with Ukrainian products is already being felt by farmers. “The processing and catering industries favor those that cost the least to be competitive. So the slaughterer loses markets, and orders less from breeders,” laments the director of Anvol.
Interviewed on France Infothe president of the environment committee of the European Parliament, Pascal Canfin, announced Thursday morning that “quotas on Ukrainian chicken” would be decided during the day in Parliament, “in order to prevent too much destabilization of our sectors”.
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