No returning to pre-war conditions of agricultural trade with EU

Ukraine and the European Union will not return to pre-war agricultural trade conditions after the end of the autonomous trade measures (ATM), but will work out a compromise option for economic cooperation in the near future, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval has said on the air of the single national telethon.

The minister noted that his meeting with the European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen was constructive and professional, based on the discussion of key problematic issues.

"The interim positive result of the negotiations of the Ukrainian delegation in Brussels last week is that there will definitely be no return to pre-war trade conditions. This will be a compromise option that will be worked out in the near future," he said. Koval added that there is now an order from the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal to develop a new interaction algorithm that will take into account the interests of Ukrainian and European farmers, so that trade is predictable, its volumes are controlled, so that Ukrainian agricultural products continue to have access to the European market.

"This is not only about numbers, it is about people. It is important for us to maintain the stability of rural areas. So that Ukrainian farmers in the Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv regions have access to the European market, because this is a premium market," the minister emphasized.

Koval said 52% of Ukrainian agricultural exports go to European markets. These products, according to him, are of high quality and have means of production from the EU in their cost structure. Therefore, Ukraine has the right to supply already grown products to the EU.

"Today, the main task of the country's government is to prove once again that Ukraine is a partner with which the European Union can become even stronger. We are not a threat to the agricultural policy of European countries. We are part of a complementary economy, and our farmers are the basis of the economic strength of the agricultural European Union," the minister said.