According to customs statistics, in June, Ukraine imported 9.03 thousand tons of chilled and frozen pork meat (UKT VED 0203), worth almost $ 20 million. It is almost four times more than in June. This is almost four times more than in June 2021 and the highest monthly deliveries since 2014. Key pork suppliers include Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain.
"This activity of foreign shipments has led to the expectation of a VAT refund and duty for importers-importers. When it became known that this rule would come into force on July 1, an unspoken competition began among traders. In particular, according to market operators, in the second half of the month pork supplies from abroad were no longer backed up by orders from end buyers of such products, but replenished the stocks," commented the Association of Ukranian Pig Breeders. "According to preliminary estimates, the total intake of imported pork in the first half of 2022 amounted to more than 30 thousand tons. Given the fact that the quota of pork supplies from the EU is exhausted, from July 1, 2022 the arrival of each kilogram of pork will be subject to 20% VAT and 10-12% import duties. This expected rise in price of imported products caused a rush in June," explained in the AUPB.
At the same time, the industry association notes that the unprecedented import activity had no excessive pressure on the domestic market of industrial pork: "Throughout June, the live stock market showed positive price dynamics, supported by a smaller domestic supply. Thus, on the one hand, during this period, batches whose fattening began in the first weeks of the war entered the market, and on the other hand, the industrial supply decreased due to the forced withdrawal from the market and/or reduction in production of a number of operators in the East of the country".
The Association of Ukranian Pig Breeders is a non-profit, voluntary organization founded by domestic pork producers. The main objectives of the association are representation and protection of rights and interests of the association farms, assistance in the development and implementation of new technologies for efficient production of pork, expansion of markets, protection of domestic sales market.