Speaking at the recent meting of the Cabinet of Ministers, PM Nikolai Azarov said that the government should improve meat import controls to eliminate the possibility of dangerous and low-quality meat being supplied to the Ukrainian market.
He said: “From what [raw material] do our processors produce meat products? From cheap imported products? Where do they come from and with what quality? We will not allow meat which Russia and the EU have refused to purchase to be supplied to Ukraine.
“All we need to do is check imports carefully. Together with the Ministry of Agriculture we should strengthen the monitoring of meat imports and stop dangerous and defective products from entering the Ukrainian market.”
Azarov said controls should be strengthened not only in relation to importers, but also on Ukrainian meat processors. He noted that the state veterinary service, Gospotrebinspektsiya, should enhance the checks and inspections on the domestic market as well.
Government protectionism?
However, experts agreed that Azarov’s proclamations were simply preparing the basis for restrictions on the import of meat, which Ukraine wants to impose to protect itself from a surplus of meat products and protect local producers. In this respect Ukraine would be following the example of Russia, which has cracked down on imports since joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
They pointed to comments in the second half of Azarov’s speech, when he stated: “I also would like to order an immediate analysis of the balance of production and consumption of meat and the impact of import supplies on the market.
“I want to draw attention of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Economic Development that negative trends have appeared recently on the domestic meat market. Today, the purchase price for young cattle is standing at UAH14.35 (US$1.74) per 1kg of body weight. Compared to last year, the reduction in purchase price is more than 12%, but this was not reflected in lower retail prices.”
According to the Prime Minister, this trend has been connected with imports of low cost meat, which have pushed prices down and reduced profits for domestic producers.