The European Union (EU) has pledged that farm products and foods imported to Ukraine will not be subsidized after the signing of a free trade area agreement (FTA) between Ukraine and the EU, the Ukrainian Agricultural and Food Policy Ministry's press service reported with reference to Minister Mykola Prysiazhniuk.
"The European Union has pledged that all agricultural products and foodstuffs that will be exported to our country will not be subsidized the way the EU does in other countries. This will greatly enhance the competitiveness of Ukrainian production," the minister said.
As part of his working visit to Brussels on December 5-6, 2011, Prysiazhniuk attended the eighth session of the "Ukraine-EU" Dialogue on Agricultural Issues, the press service said. He also met with European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos. In particular, they discussed the prospects for signing the FTA and agricultural development in Ukraine.
"The Ukrainian agricultural sector is facing a hard task – to open access to domestic products to Europe and, at the same time, safeguard them from competition from imports. The free trade area, negotiations over which are nearing completion, is opening up opportunities for this," the minister is quoted as saying.
