KIEV: The Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine, jointly with other executive power agencies, is looking for new opportunities to export dairy products to substitute lost markets, the press service of the ministry has reported, referring to Deputy Minister Natalia Mykolska.
She said that the export promotion council at the ministry has created a working group for dairy exports. The group consists of representatives of the Infrastructure and Foreign Ministries.
The ministry said that the fall in exports of dairy products was due to an almost complete stoppage of supplies to Russia (from $119 million to $69,500) and Kazakhstan (by 61.2%, to $14.6 million) and the complete freezing of supplies to Belarus.
In January-August 2015, milk and dairy product exports reached $112 million (a decline of 57.6% year-over-year). Cheese exports with the share of 42% of the total dairy product exports fell by 98%.
At a first meeting of the working group, which was held recently, Ukraine’s address to the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the actions of Russia was discussed, as well as VAT refunding, the lifting of restrictions against Ukrainian dairy products by Kazakhstan, and the provision of additional quotas on its imports by the end of 2015.
The access of dairy products to the European Union markets, particularly, the status of the DG SANTE report (Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety) after checks of Ukrainian enterprises and help in entering the African and Asian markets were discussed as well.
