Ukraine as of November 26, 2018 fully used 10 quotas for duty free exports of food under a Free Trade Area (FTA) agreement with the European Union (EU), particular, quotas for honey, cereals, malt and wheat gluten, preserved tomatoes, grape and apple juices, wheat and corn, butter and poultry.
According to a posting on the website of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB), Ukraine also almost fully used quotas for starch (95%) and garlic (96%).
The UCAB reminded that from October 1, 2018 the second year of additional quotas for five groups of goods began, and two groups have been already closed (honey and preserved tomatoes).
“Before the end of the year, additional quotas for grain will be in effect, of which the volume for wheat and corn has already been used, and only 23% is used for barley,” the UCAB said.
As reported, in January-October 2018, exports of agricultural products from Ukraine amounted to $14.8 billion, which is $165 million more than a year earlier.
In addition to quotas for Ukraine, quotas on duty free import of goods from EU countries to Ukraine are still in effect. These include quotas for the following groups of goods – sugar, poultry meat (primary and secondary quotas) and pork (primary and secondary quotas).
Danone in Ukraine has begun exporting yoghurt to Poland with the weekly deliveries of 20 tonnes, the company’s press service has reported. According to the report, Danone exports products for children under the Danonki brand (in Ukraine the Rastishka brand), as well as Activia bifidus yoghurt. The export volume of each product category is 10 tonnes per week.
“In 2018, the company received a request from partners from Poland for the supply of products for children under the Danonki brand. The request has been successfully implemented, therefore Poland became the first country in the European Union to which Ukrainian yoghurt was delivered,” the manufacturer said.
The company also reported on the request for an increase in export volumes. In addition, Danone intends to organize the supply of dairy products to other EU countries.
According to the company, Danone is now also exporting Prostokvashino sour cream and Activia drinking bifidus yoghurt to the United Arab Emirates. According to Danone, the exported products are manufactured at Danone Dnipro plant (Kherson). Danone Group is represented in 120 countries. It owns more than 190 factories, which employ about 102,000 people.
AgroFoodCluster Kharkiv, uniting small and medium-sized agricultural producers in Kharkiv region, plans to develop a direct export scheme for small farmers in 2019, Cluster Chairman Yuriy Mykhailov has said. “Next year we want to build an export scheme for our farmers, according to which they will be able to receive currency into their account. This is the main motive for the region, so that the currency comes to the manufacturer, and does not remain partially abroad, which most traders abuse,” Mykhailov told Interfax-Ukraine at the third Ukrainian-German forum “BEA: Bioenergy, Energy Efficiency and Agribusiness” in Kharkiv.
According to him, the cluster in 2019 also intends to increase the number of participants.
Among the projects of AgroFoodCluster in 2017-2018 is the participation in the ANUGA food fair (Cologne, Germany). According to Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kharkiv and managing partner of ILF Tetiana Havrysh, this allowed the cluster members to get new contracts in the European, Asian and African markets.
Mykhailov said that the cluster also carries out joint projects with the ILF law firm, aimed at raising the legal awareness of cluster members on taxes and protecting businesses from illegal seizures.
“The last initiative that we have to implement is to become representatives of the Ukrainian Agricultural Council, which actively protects the interests of producers, and cooperate with them on the protection of the property of our participants,” Mykhailov said.
According to him, in October 2018, the cluster included 19 companies.
“If there are about 400-500 agricultural producers in Kharkiv, the share of cluster members is very small. We had a goal to reach 100 participants, but this is quite difficult,” he said.
According to Havrysh, the priorities of the cluster are also cooperation with educational institutions, which are part of the cluster, to improve the quality of staff, as well as the development of communities.
“Now the cluster is looking for strategies for introducing green tourism. It is launching cultural programs. This is an evolution, although it may not be fast, because the Ukrainian government does not have a specific strategy regarding clusters,” she said.
Havrysh said that the cluster is also interested in creating a branded regional product to increase competitiveness in the domestic market.
“This can seriously influence domestic exports between regions in Ukraine. We often see products from Western Ukraine in Kharkiv, but it is unlikely that products from Kharkiv are seen in Western Ukraine,” she said.
As reported, the AgroFoodCluster Kharkiv was created in July 2017 intending to bring the region’s products to new markets.
From mid-September, USPA FRUIT started shipping Ukrainian Royal Gala and Golden apples of the 2018 harvest to the countries of the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
Considering the first large-scale campaign of exporting apples from Ukraine by sea, USPA FRUIT paid special attention to the quality of exported apples. So, all the apples passed control during harvesting, post-harvest application and applying special regyme of cooling for long term storage. The firmness of all the apples that are exported is at least 7 kg / cm2, which is sufficient for successful transportation and subsequent sale to the final consumer.
USPA FRUIT quality auditors checked each unit of apple packaging, which is especially important for deliveries to the countries of the Persian Gulf and Asia, in order to ensure the weight of each package according to the standard of 18 kg per box, net weight.
Ukrainian apples are valued by new consumers for the special taste and aroma that is provided by the special climate and black soil of Ukraine, which makes it possible to grow an apple using considerably less chemical treatments. Significant differences during twenty-four hours temperatures, which depends on the region but often excceed 20 ° C between day and night, make it possible to obtain an intensive red color in a natural way, which is in most cases 70% +, and thanks to long day and total amount of temperatures also to make an apple very sweet without the use of special chemicals. Such apples are selected by USPA FRUIT for the most demanding of their customers.
The main export of apples from Ukraine, traditionally, was carried out by road, so the USPA FRUIT company was especially attentive to meeting the schedule for delivering ships to the port and building a port logistics system, since the company exports all apples under CIF conditions in order to provide maximum service to its customers, guaranteeing the quality of apples at the port of destination and delivery in time.
Starting from October 10, Ukrainian apples began to arrive to the ports of the Persian Gulf and to the shelves of the largest retail chains. Quality control of apples, ensuring their quality packaging and the conditions of their delivery during transportation, made it possible to completely avoid customer complaints about the quality and packaging of apples, and the demanding Arab consumer fully appreciate the unique taste and aroma of Ukrainian apples, that means the export must go on.
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine deputy and Opposition Party Co-chairman Borys Kolesnykov has said Ukraine should export more highly processed products, remove the energy and food blockade of Donbas and create a comfortable business climate for investors. “Ukraine simply needs to export more and import less, and within three years we must export highly processed products. We must act solely in our own economic interests,” he said on his Facebook page on Thursday. Kolesnykov said government should “promptly remove the energy and food blockade of Donbas and create a real investment climate in the country for both domestic investors and foreign investors.” “Ukraine simply has to become an Eastern European Singapore,” he said.
