EU pork quotas are utilized by 91%
According to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, over 10 months of 2020 Ukraine imported 18.18 thousand Mt of pork from the EU countries. This is 91% of the annual export quotas volume on pork for suppliers from the European Union, said Alexandra Bondarskaya, head of the Analytical Association “Svinari of Ukraine”.
""Within the framework of the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, fresh, chilled and frozen pork (UKT VED 0203) imports within 20 thousand Mt are not subject to import duties. Thus, by the end of the year, domestic importers will be able to purchase another 1.82 thousand Mt of pork without paying a fee. Given the dynamics of imports in recent months, market operators believe that quotas on the pork imports from the EU will be utilized by the end of November.
At the same time, it is worth noting that at the "zero" rate of custom duties, it is possible to bring not the entire assortment, but only individual sub-items: in accordance with the terms of the Agreement, half of the quota volumes apply to all commodity positions, and an additional 10 thousand Mt - to chilled and frozen pork sides, bone-in cuts (shoulder, belly, forend, their parts and other bone-in cuts). Therefore, after quotas utilization domestic importers of meat raw materials will have to pay 12% more for chilled pork imports that are not included in this list and, and 10% - for frozen pork imports.
The most active of the European traders in the Ukrainian market during 2020 were Danish and Polish exporters, who supplied a total of 12.6 thousand Mt of pork or almost 53% pork imported into Ukraine. Other European countries - the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Lithuania - accounted for less than 24% of total imports over the period, "adds an analyst at ASU.