Ukraine, EU need to look for new agricultural cooperation model – Vysotskyi

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Acting Minister Taras Vysotskyi in an interview with Ukrinform.

According to Vysotskyi, the structure and organization of agricultural production in Ukraine and Europe differ significantly. This has recently led to misunderstandings with a number of European neighbors regarding the export and transit of Ukrainian agricultural products.

“Historically, the European Union has developed stable ‘rules of the game’ in agriculture, which are combined in the Common Agricultural Policy. The peculiarity of this sector in Europe is that production is built mostly on small-scale farming. Ukraine’s agricultural sector has its own unique structure. We have small producers who make about 10% of the total output; a medium segment with a share of about 65%; and a large segment making about 25% of agricultural products,” Vysotskyi explained.

In his words, Ukraine’s agriculture demonstrates efficiency and considerable stability and endurance, even in the extreme wartime conditions. Hence, one of the main tasks and challenges for Ukraine in the process of negotiations is to find a new compromise model of interaction. It is impossible and unnecessary to simply adapt Ukraine’s entire agricultural sector by ‘reshaping’ it in accordance with EU patterns.

“After all, when something works effectively, it is necessary to fully use this tool. Therefore, the discussion will be more about how to find mechanisms that would allow combining the strengths of Ukraine’s agricultural sector, the institutional ties that have already been developed, and the European Union’s historical model, and then move together and complement each other in this new compromise model,” Vysotskyi noted.

Such a combination, in his opinion, will strengthen the competitive positions of Ukraine and Europe on the world market.

“We need to combine efforts and plan logistics and export supplies so that we can compete with the major players on the global food markets as one European family. For this purpose, it is necessary not to oppose each other but to unite, count the benefits, and understand what, for example, should sail from Marseille, what from Amsterdam, and what from Odesa, so that we are more competitive in the markets of the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia compared to other key players,” Vysotskyi emphasized.

This can be achieved through the development of common long-term plans together with European partners, as well as the division of ‘responsibilities’ and areas of expertise.

A reminder that, according to the forecasts, agricultural agreements will be one of the largest and most challenging chapters in the EU-Ukraine accession talks, which started last week. About 40% of standards and regulations that Ukraine needs to bring into compliance with the EU legislation are related to agriculture and agricultural products.