Six agriculture Associations of Europe representing producers and manufacturers from the sugar, cereals/oilseeds, poultry meat and eggs sectors met with European Commissioner Wojciechowski today, to express their strong concerns regarding the unlimited import from Ukraine that is creating a trade imbalance in Europe. The Associations in the meeting suggested possible constructive solutions for managing the flows in the future.
The six associations are- AVEC – Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade in the EU countries, CEFS – European Association of Sugar Manufacturers, CEPM – European Confederation of Maize Production, CIBE – International Confederation of European Beet Growers, Copa-Cogeca – the united voice of farmers and their cooperatives in the European Union and EUWEP – European Union of Wholesale with Eggs, Egg Products, Poultry and Game.
They said that the agricultural sector must not become a reason for wavering support to Ukraine and urged the Commission to find constructive solutions to address the impacts of trade liberalization.
The Associations said that they will continue doing their part in the EU efforts to help Ukraine. However, this effort is currently inequitably shared, with the agricultural sector bearing a disproportionate and unsustainable burden.
The producers said that the Autonomous Trade Measures mechanism with Ukraine if maintained in its current form, will put a question mark on the survival of EU producers in general, and especially for the cereals, oilseeds, poultry, eggs, and sugar sectors, will be at stake.
The Associations said that efforts should be made to reinforce international efforts to facilitate the flow of goods from the Black Sea ports so that they once again become the main export channel. Additional investments should be made to improve logistics and infrastructure to enable the Solidarity Lanes to function properly and increase their number so that goods can flow easily to where they are needed.
The Association has asked for the creation of a system to make sure that the destination for all consignments of Ukrainian agricultural products is determined before entry into the EU.
The Associations said that these mechanisms should form a constructive way forward to maintain trade flows, protect EU producers, help Ukrainian producers to diversify their exports, re-establish old trading routes and limit their dependency on the EU market.
