Paris, recently witnessed an international agricultural gathering transform into a battleground for the European farming community’s growing discontent. This past weekend, French poultry producers, engulfed by frustration, clashed with riot police, highlighting the fury against surging Ukrainian chicken imports. This incident on French terrain is merely a symptom of a larger crisis that spans the European Union (EU).
The dispute centers around Ukrainian agri-food behemoth MHP, accused by critics of undermining European farmers. John Rich, MHP’s executive chair, dismissed these claims as a smear campaign fueled by competitors and political machinations, with French President Emmanuel Macron and the national poultry meat organization ANVOL among the accused.
Macron’s critique that EU trade policies disproportionately favor MHP’s founder, Yuriy Kosiuk, at the detriment of local farmers, coupled with ANVOL’s characterization of Ukrainian chicken imports as “unfair competition,” has sparked a continent-wide debate.
MHP, Ukraine’s premier poultry producer, alongside other Ukrainian exporters, has been defended by Rich, who argues they are not the culprits behind the EU’s agricultural challenges. He posits that Kosiuk’s gains from EU trade are negligible, highlighting MHP’s role as Ukraine’s top taxpayer and its contribution to the nation’s defense against Russian aggression.
Unraveling EU Agriculture’s Challenges
The controversy over MHP and Ukrainian poultry imports predates the current conflict with Russia. EU poultry producers long accused MHP of exploiting loopholes in the EU-Ukraine trade agreement to significantly boost chicken breast meat exports.
The dynamic shifted with the EU’s decision in June 2022 to grant Ukraine full trade liberalization under an Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM) Regulation, aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s post-invasion economy by suspending import duties and quotas.
This move, extended into 2023, led to a significant uptick in Ukrainian poultry imports, which marked a more than 47% increase in the January-November period of the last year, amidst a broader uptrend in EU imports.
Yet, attributing the EU’s agricultural distress solely to Ukrainian imports simplifies a complex issue. The European farming organization Copa-Cogeca has advocated for a reevaluation of the Ukraine ATM, warning that without adjustments, the economic viability of several EU agricultural sectors is at risk.
French Farmers’ Frustration
The tension reached a zenith at the annual Paris International Agricultural Show, where French farmers, already embittered by perceived governmental indifference, escalating operational costs, and rigid EU regulations, engaged in confrontations with riot police.
This explosion of anger, while concentrated in France, symbolizes a wider crisis within the farming sector, prompting the European Commission (EC) to propose measures aimed at reducing the administrative load on farmers.
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