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Since June 4, European customs duties on poultry from Ukraine have been lifted. This support for the Ukrainian economy does not only make people happy.
One in four chicken fillets consumed in Europe is not European: but Brazilian, Thai or even Ukrainian. Ukraine provides around 15% of the poultry consumed in the territory of the 27. Meat which has benefited from an exemption from customs duties since the beginning of June. A ” temporary liberalization », According to the terms of the decision, in support of the country’s economy.
Ukrainian poultry was already more competitive
Given the logistical difficulties imposed by the war, Ukrainian chicken should not flood European stores in the coming days. But this measure is, in fact, an export facility. And that is what worries poultry producers. With this decision, it is difficult to be more competitive than a Ukrainian producer: local production is already done at a lower cost. It is mainly overseen by a large agro-industrial group (MHP) which has gigantic farms, and which controls the entire chain, from the production of grains to the cutting of meat.
A Ukrainian chicken fillet costs half as much as a French fillet to produce, but ” it does not meet the same health standards “, deplores the French interprofession of poultry (ANVOL).
Ukrainian egg products from less demanding farms
The lifting of European import duties also concerns eggs and egg products, that is to say eggs in liquid or powder form, used by restaurants and manufacturers. Ukraine is the second largest supplier to the European Union – with in 2021, 8,000 tonnes of shell eggs and 7,300 tonnes of egg products. It is difficult to say at this stage whether the Brussels decision will increase trade flows, but the French egg interprofession (CNPO) says it is concerned, “in principle” by the method of production of Ukrainian egg products. While shell eggs imported into Europe must come from hens reared in equipped cages, as imposed by European regulations since 2012, egg products – themselves – are not subject to the same restrictions. They can therefore come from battery farming, which reduces costs and makes egg products even more competitive.