On May 515, the European Parliament approved the elimination of EU import tariffs on all Ukrainian exports by a year. The initiative was supported by deputies, the press service of the Ministry of Agricultural Policy of Ukraine said.
The provisions extraordinarily passed in the plenary include the complete suspension of import duties on manufactured goods, the entry price system for fruits and vegetables and anti-dumping duties for a period of one year.
First Deputy Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine Taras Vysotsky said most of the restrictions and quotas that apply under the Free Trade Area Association Agreement with the EU mainly concern agricultural products and food. The usage quota for honey was used up in two weeks, for poultry meat, tomato paste, apple juice, Grains, oil – in a few months. For dairy products, the quota was much lower than for our production capacities.
Therefore, the suspension of tariffs is a very important signal for actively increasing exports, especially value-added products, which makes our products more competitive, since some tariffs increased the price of products by 50% or even half. Clearly, this is a historic opportunity for Ukrainian agriculture. Therefore, we expect a continuous growth in exports of domestic agricultural products to the EU.
Taras Vysotsky
First Deputy Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine