Ukraine to Negotiate Spud Exports to EU
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety has been addressed by the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection with a proposal to consider the possibility of launching Ukrainian potato exports to the European Union (EU).
“Ukraine fulfills its commitments under the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement, in particular, to adapt national legislation to the European potato growing sector legislation. We will continue to make every effort to open the EU market for Ukrainian potato growers,” Vladyslava Mahaletska, Head of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection mentioned during a meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian Association of Potato Producers.
Ukraine and the EU counterparts are currently discussing the need to appoint in 2022 an inspection from European experts to help launch the Ukrainian potato exports to the EU, Ukrinform wrote.
Ukraine is the fourth-largest potato producer in the world after China, India, and Russia. Ukraine also ranks 2nd worldwide in terms of per capita consumption of this product after Belarus. Ukrainians eat 139 kg of potatoes per person per year, while the world average is 33 kg per person per year.
Two years go, the gross yield of potatoes increased by 2.9% compared to 2019 and reached 20.9 million tons. At the same time, the area for potato planting also increased by 1.3% up to 1,325,000 hectares, showing an increase in yield compared to the previous year.
