Poultry producers in Slovakia fear the country’s food market could be flooded with cheaper chicken meat from Ukraine after Easter when the European Union is set to reduce customs duties on Ukrainian exports to the European Union, Daniel Molnar of the Slovak Poultry Producers Union (UHS) told journalists on Tuesday.
The respective EU regulation will come into force on April 23. Molnar observed that while Ukraine appears to be self-sufficient - with the poultry production in the country being on the rise –Slovakia manages to produce only approximately half the amount of poultry needed for its domestic needs. Molnar further complained that it's likely that many of these Ukrainian exports will end up on the Slovak market, provided that Western Europe remains inclined to prefer local products. Conversely, Slovak consumers and retailers appear to seek lower prices rather than high-quality products. Molnar cautioned in this respect that the prices of poultry in Ukraine are far lower than in Slovakia. While shoppers in Ukraine pay around €1.70 per kilogram of chicken, the price in Slovakia is between €2.50-2.90 per kilogram.
