Ukraine meat and livestock sector optimistic, despite ongoing crisis
Indeed, the industry is optimistic about its prospects, should its new pro-west government survive and sign an association agreement with the European Union (EU).
The meat industry has thus far continued production in a relatively untroubled manner, according to Anna Sergienko, marketing manager of Poultry Ukraine, the industry board and who also spoke on behalf of other meat sectors. "The crisis has not affected the market of meat," she said. "Consumption has not decreased, and there have been no problems with logistics."
According to the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Ukraine is one of two countries in the European sphere - the other, ironically, is Russia - that has seen significant growth in chicken production. In 2000, the country produced 190,000 tonnes of eviscerated chicken meat; this grew to 463,000 tonnes in 2005, and has grown every year since.
According to Poultry Ukraine, the country’s total poultry production in 2013 was 1.2 million tonnes. It forecasts that the poultry market will grow in 2014 by about 10%. Ukraine’s broiler production has also rocketed - from just 20,000 tonnes in 2000 to 289,000 tonnes in 2005, 570,000 in 2008, 767,000 in 2011 and 903,000 in 2013. This places it ninth on the list of European countries, producing similar levels to Italy and the Netherlands.
Data from Euromonitor shows that pork is the next largest category, with production of fresh pork reaching 591,700 tonnes in 2013, followed by beef (263,900 tonnes). The industry has a small lamb, mutton and goat sector that produced 19,600 tonnes in 2013. According to MHP, Ukraine’s largest meat producer, sausage and cooked meat output grew 31% in 2012.
The prospect of a trade association deal with the EU appears closer after the EU announced on March 5 it was to abolish import duties on most goods from Ukraine, including meat products. Sergienko said Ukraine began exporting broiler meat to the EU in 2013 and was due to export 500 tonnes this year, and Ms Sergienko welcomed the prospect of closer ties. "If Ukraine will sign an association with the EU, exports of poultry meat will be about 40,000 tonnes," she said. "The Ukrainian poultry market is growing rapidly and we look forward to entering new markets."
Analysts believe closer ties with Europe will help in several ways. "The EU will support improvements in the general production of the market," said Wojtek Boniaszczuk, an agribusiness analyst with the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD). "An association deal will also help how business is conducted in the number of bottlenecks that exist in the form of real and perceived corruption. The business climate will improve and allow investors to come in from abroad."
The European Livestock & Meat Trading Union (UECBV) declined to comment on Ukraine’s potential, but a spokesman for the European Commission’s trade directorate general said the forecast benefits were emphatic. "Ukrainian exporters will save €487 million annually, due to reduced EU import duties," he said. "Ukrainian agriculture will benefit from cuts in duties: €330 million for agricultural products and €53 million for processed agricultural products."
The meat industry in a post-revolution Ukraine has two major targets, according to analysts: to become self-sufficient and to comply with the biosecurity, animal welfare, and sourcing standards of Europe. "There’s quite a lot that needs to be done before Ukraine becomes self-sufficient," said Boniaszczuk: "Ukraine is a net importer of meat. The pork sector has huge potential, but 50% of the industry is household or backyard-based - families with a few pigs in their garden."
The beef industry is seen in a similar light, and with similar shortcomings in hygiene standards, with exceptions in the form of major companies that have received funding from sources such as the EBRD. "The potential for chicken is high, with much more poultry meat in products. Ukraine is a low income country so chicken is popular and the potential [eventually] to export is high," added Lyudmyla Lishchenyuk, a banking analyst for the EBRD.
The other major hurdle, international standards, will require painstaking work, said Lishchenyuk. "At the moment Ukraine is not comparable with Europe on consumer protection. Food quality - biosecurity, animal welfare - is a huge area. Not every company in Ukraine operates to the best standards of animal welfare. That work will have to be done, but it can’t happen overnight." This process will be slow, especially, as Lishchenyuk points out, "some of the small and medium-sized enterprises will go out of business or be taken over."
Analysts also believe that the meat sector will need to continue to work with Russia. "It’s clear that Russia is an important market for Ukraine," said Boniaszczuk. "Should production increase to levels that warrant export, Russia would be a significant partner."
