Vnuk: Slovakia Raises Concerns Over Import Quotas on Ukrainian Agri-Commodities

Brussels, 14 July (TASR) - Quotas on imports of agri-commodities from Ukraine were a key topic at Monday’s EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, said Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Vladimir Vnuk, TASR learnt from its special correspondent on the same day. „Slovakia, similarly to other countries, has pointed out that the quotas agreed with Ukraine under the trade liberalisation agreement are different from those communicated by the European Commission,“ Vnuk said, adding that the Commission originally announced an increase in quotas for Ukrainian agri-commodities by 20–25 percent. However, for some goods, this rose to 300–400 percent. "This concerns mainly sensitive commodities such as honey, sugar and eggs," he noted. Slovakia therefore supported the call to restore the quotas for imports of agri-commodities from Ukraine to their levels before the war, stated Vnuk. Another request from EU-member states was that goods produced in Ukraine should meet demanding European standards, because Ukrainian farmers don't have to comply with such strict standards as their counterparts in the EU. This leads to lower prices for some agri-commodities, which threatens the competitiveness of European farmers. lin