Ukraine and China are working on opening the Chinese market for Ukrainian peas, poultry meat, corn and fish products, the press service of the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection said.
“China is an important market for agro-products for national exporters, therefore, on behalf of the Chairman of the State Consumer Service Sergiy Tkachuk, constant interaction between the service and the competent authority of the PRC continues. Our goal is to open seven new markets. This is a long-term process of coordination, but step by step we are succeeding,” said First Deputy Head of the State Consumer Service Oleg Osiyan at a meeting with representatives of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC).
The parties discussed draft bilateral international agreements on export of peas, wheat flour, pet food, beef, corn, poultry meat, wild-caught aquatic products from Ukraine to China. Each of the above documents is at a different stage of elaboration and harmonization.
“While the protocol on peas is at the stage of finalization of domestic harmonization in Ukraine, the texts have been sent for consideration to the competent authority of China. This is one of the markets at the final stage of opening. After the signing of the bilateral protocol, new opportunities for Ukrainian agrarian business to export peas will open up,” Deputy Head of the State Consumer Service – Chief State Phytosanitary Inspector of Ukraine Vadym Chaykovskyy emphasized.
It is recalled that the last Ukrainian product, for which the access to the Chinese market was opened, was honey. The form of health certificate for its export was agreed earlier this year.
Requirements of the destination countries of the export of food products of animal and plant origin are publicized on the official web portal of the State consumer service.
“Currently under consideration of Chinese colleagues – draft protocols on the export of poultry meat and fish. The State Consumer Service sent its proposals on the text of the protocol in the fall. The protocol on wild-caught aquatic products has already undergone domestic harmonization and is at the stage of final approval by the Chinese side. The texts of protocols on beef and pet food are also undergoing the stage of domestic approval,” said Volodymyr Kusturov, Deputy Head of the State Consumer Service – Chief State Veterinary Inspector of Ukraine.
Representatives of the State Consumer Service and GACC discussed in detail the steps of further cooperation, draft bilateral agreements, and agreed to continue active cooperation on the development of international trade between Ukraine and China.
Ukrainian producers of meat and meat products have asked the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food to consider the possibility of exporting these products to China, the press service of the ministry said.
“We specifically met with specialized associations and representatives of the State Consumer Service before the trip of the Ukrainian official delegation to China, where the details of cooperation in terms of exporting our meat, in particular pork, will be discussed. It is important for us to discuss all the details between market participants so that this issue could be solved efficiently,” First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyy said on Tuesday at a meeting of the working group on the development of the meat industry, as quoted in the press release.
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food noted that China is one of the most attractive markets for Ukrainian exporters of poultry, beef and pork meat, as the largest number of applications Ukrainian meat exporters currently receive is from the Chinese market. Because of COVID-19 and the war, exports, particularly of beef, to this country have been suspended.
“Currently, there is a certain warming in trade relations between Ukraine and China and the list of our exporters of beef, pork continues to expand. Also on the agenda is the issue of poultry meat exports,” – stated in the message.
The agency specified that information on key issues has already been exchanged with the Chinese customs in order to prepare bilateral meetings between the countries, which will be held in the near future.
