Today, thanks to the initiative of specialized associations, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, and the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, a new chance has emerged.
Ukraine has officially announced about supplying pork to European markets.
Obtaining such a permit is not easy and will take at least several years. The industry should use this time to prepare to meet EU requirements, which are mandatory for suppliers, and to pass the inspection when the time comes.
Technical support will be provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development under the Animal Health, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Program in Ukraine and Moldova. In cooperation with the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders, FAO experts have contributed to the development of self-assessment questionnaires for pig breeding, slaughtering and processing enterprises to verify compliance with EU regulations for exporting pig products. The organizations also provide individual consultations to enterprises during compliance audits. Several enterprises located in the central part of Ukraine have already received them. The next step is to audit four more applicants from the western region.
The technical support program also provides for a number of measures to improve the institutional capacity of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, including training for its specialists.
The Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders is a non-profit, voluntary organization founded by domestic pork producers. The main purposes of the association are representation and protection of rights and interests of farms of the association, assistance in development and introduction of new technologies for efficient production of pork, expansion of sales markets, and protection of domestic sales market.
During 2021−2023, FAO and the EBRD are implementing the program «Animal Health, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Programs in Ukraine and Moldova». The main components of the program are (i) improving the control of the epizootic situation, with a focus on transboundary animal diseases, in particular African swine fever; (ii) reducing the risks of antibiotic resistance; and (iii) establishing agricultural production and supply chains in the context of the war in Ukraine.
