Czech Republic complains to European Commission over Ukrainian grain, poultry meat
MOSCOW. Aug 10 (Interfax) - Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny asked European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski to look into the situation surrounding agricultural imports from Ukraine, including the import of grain and poultry meat, to the European Union, Ukrainian media said, citing the Czech Agriculture Ministry's statement.
"The greatest concern [of Czech farmers] today is the side-effects of the increase in the export of agricultural products from Ukraine. Above all, it is the serious growth of the import of cereals and poultry meat. That is the reason why Minister Marek Vyborny asked European Commissioner Wojciechowski to sort out this situation," the ministry's press service said on Thursday.
Vyborny believes that the EU should resolve the issues of logistics, the throughput capacity of transport routes to third countries and production routing and should guarantee the safety of imported goods and step up their distribution to remote regions.
The minister also emphasized the need to support the transport infrastructure in order to reduce the load on the European space. Furthermore, it is important to monitor existing stocks and to prepare possible anti-crisis measures for the upcoming period, he said.
Given the unstable situation on European agricultural product markets, it is necessary to find a pan-European solution that will produce the effect that all the sides need, he said.
"As regards the current harvest, I have repeatedly highlighted the continuous secondary impact on a certain part of the EU's internal market, including the Czech Republic. I see some positive changes in the structure of production and price development, but today's figures are still adverse with regard to the trade balance of the aforementioned goods," Vyborny said.
When commenting on the quality of foodstuffs, the minister spoke about the need to ensure "sufficient mechanisms of control" to be applied both to European producers and to imports from third countries.
In order to guarantee a fair approach, the European Commission ought to monitor compliance with these requirements during the import of products, the minister said.
"Imports, especially grain imports, have increased more than 30% as compared to the previous period. The same situation also remains in the poultry meat production sector. The key reason behind this situation is the extensive growth of supply over demand on the EU markets due to the import of Ukrainian products, particularly cereals. This situation should be dealt with at the pan-European level, ensuring the functioning of the Solidarity Lanes," Vyborny said.
As reported, the Czech Republic did not plan to join five EU countries - Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania - that are Ukraine's neighbors and to ban Ukrainian grain imports. However, the Czech agriculture minister in April 2023 joined Commissioner Wojciechowski's discussions with the agriculture ministers of these five countries.
Citing the need to protect the health of domestic consumers, the Czech Republic tightened control over grain imports from Ukraine, including food grain, in spring this year.
