Polish poultry producers seeking cut in Ukrainian chicken import quota to 90,000 tonnes

MOSCOW. Dec 24 (Interfax) - The National Poultry Council of Poland plans to reduce the quota for Ukrainian chicken imports from today's 137,000 tonnes to 90,000 tonnes after June 2025 in an effort to restore the balance present in the Polish market before 2021, Ukrainian media cited the council's President Dariusz Goscinski as saying in a podcast for Pulz Biznesu.

"The limit of 137,000 tonnes is not critical, but it is enough to provide certain stability. We now hope to return to the limit of 90,000 tonnes, which ensured balance [in the market] before 2021," Goscinski said.

Currently, more than two-thirds of Ukraine's poultry exports to the EU are supplied by one producer, the MHP agricultural holding, which enjoys competitive advantages due to low production costs, he said.

Even if Ukraine implements animal welfare standards and sustainable production principles, the scale of business and lower production costs will continue to give Ukrainian producers a competitive edge, he said. As a result, Polish producers will encounter price competition, which will become a serious challenge.

As reported, the Ukrainian government began implementing a quota of 137,000 tonnes on exporting poultry meat and by-products to the EU market from July 1, 2024 as part of the duty-free trade requirement. In May 2022, the EU lifted duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports because of the crisis, but partially reinstated them in 2024 due to pressure from European agricultural producers.