Minister Kovalis: Ukraine's agricultural products are an opportunity for the EU, not a threat

Ukrainian agricultural products are not a threat, but an opportunity for European Union (EU) farmers, a Ukrainian minister told AFP news agency, as Kyiv seeks to renew a landmark agreement on market access.

„Help us strengthen the European Union. We are not a threat, we are an opportunity“, – said the Minister for Agricultural Policy and Food Vitalijus Kovalis.

The European Union has granted an exemption from tariff restrictions on some Ukrainian agricultural products following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, to help cope with the economic consequences of war.

Ukraine is hoping the agreement, which expires on 5 June, will be fully renewed, and the European Commission (EC) is reportedly willing to grant lower quotas, but for a longer period of time.

With negotiations at an impasse, the EC is considering an interim agreement. The EU has faced anger from farmers' unions who accuse Ukrainian competitors of unfairly undercutting their prices.

„The biggest help that the European Union could give us is opening up the product market“, – said Mr Kovalis.

He noted that 75 per cent of production costs for Ukrainian products come from other European countries.

According to Mr. Kovalev, Ukraine's agricultural exports are worth €13 billion a year.

 This is less than five percent of what the EU buys, – he said. But there is a lot of noise and emotion around this figure.

He added that Ukraine does not want to just ask for help, it wants to „complement“ the EU.

Ukraine needs European investment in its food and agro-processing sector and help to bring Ukrainian products to markets in Africa and elsewhere, the minister said.

„Twenty-five thousand people die of hunger every day due to poor logistics,“ noted Mr. Kovalis. 

„We are ready to fight together with Europe“ to avoid this, he added.

„We can do it together“, – said the minister.