Ukraine asks European Commission to simplify tariff quota administration
Kyiv has proposed that the European Commission simplify the administration of selected EU tariff quotas, notably for flour and dairy products, and consider more flexible mechanisms for bioethanol and native starch. The proposals were raised by Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi at a meeting in Brussels with Commissioner Christophe Hansen. Ukraine says the aim is to support domestic processing and reduce the administrative and financial burden on business.
Ukraine has proposed that the European Commission simplify the administration of selected tariff quotas on imports, a step Kyiv argues would support domestic processors and ease pressure on exporters. The proposal was reported by European Pravda, citing the press service of Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
Tariff quotas were discussed during a meeting in Brussels between Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Taras Vysotskyi, and the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen. The two sides also reviewed the situation in Ukraine’s agricultural sector, export logistics, producers’ access to financing and to the EU market, and Ukraine’s preparation for membership of the European Union.
Flour, dairy, bioethanol and native starch
“Ukraine proposes to simplify the administration of certain tariff quotas, in particular for flour and dairy products, and also to consider more flexible mechanisms for bioethanol and native starch. The aim of these proposals is to support Ukrainian processing and to reduce the administrative and financial burden on business,” the ministry said.
All four product groups named by the ministry are processed goods rather than raw agricultural commodities. Flour and dairy fall under the request to simplify quota administration; for bioethanol and native starch, Kyiv is asking the Commission to consider more flexible mechanisms instead. The ministry did not specify which administrative procedures it wants changed, did not publish the quota volumes concerned, and gave no timeline for a Commission response.
Export logistics and liquidity
Vysotskyi said Ukraine is interested in the further development of additional routes under the Solidarity Lanes and in mechanisms to support such logistics. The minister linked export capacity directly to the financial position of farms.
“Today it is fundamentally important for us to preserve the ability of the Ukrainian farmer to produce. Problems with exports very quickly turn into a liquidity problem. If a producer cannot sell output at an economically justified price, they have fewer resources for the next sowing campaign,” Vysotskyi said. Access to financing for producers was listed separately among the topics raised with the Commissioner.
Accession files: chapters 11, 12 and 13
The talks also covered Ukraine’s preparation for EU membership within negotiating Chapter 11, “Agriculture and rural development”, Chapter 12, “Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy”, and Chapter 13, “Fisheries and aquaculture”. The Ukrainian side said it is working on the creation of a Paying Agency, the development of a system for administering agricultural support, the adaptation of its state control system and the digitalisation of fisheries management.
The ministry presented these as work in progress and did not give target dates for completion. Quota administration and accession preparation run on separate tracks, but both shape the terms on which Ukrainian processed food reaches EU buyers.
Biomethane supplies and Latvian grain checks
Earlier in Brussels, Vysotskyi said Ukraine is ready to increase supplies of biomethane to the European Union, adding that the first deliveries of biogas to the bloc have already been made.
Separately, Latvia is introducing border controls on grain in order to prevent the transit of goods stolen in Ukraine.
