In June as a concession to farmers in the Ukraine, the EU suspended quotas for agricultural products including a 70,000 metric ton limit on processed chicken. Following the suspension of the quota, exports from the Ukraine to the EU increased by 54 percent in the second quarter compared to the corresponding period in 2021. Chicken cooperative Anvol in France predicts that the total volume supplied by Ukraine to the EU will increase to a range of 130,000 to 180,000 metric tons. French integrators are now faced with a 181 percent increase in imports from Ukraine.
Quoted by Reuters, Gilles Huttepain, Deputy Chairman of Anvol, stated, “We were tricked, we are willing to help Ukrainian farmers, but we don’t want to help just one company.” He was referring to MHP, the largest producer in Ukraine committed to export sales. Shipment westward to the EU is also necessitated by the ongoing war in the east of the country and a blockade of exports from Black Sea ports imposed by the Russian Federation and only recently lifted.
Producers in France would be in an even more difficult position were it not for the depopulation of over 19 million birds of various species due to HPAI that affected all-poultry production from November 2021 through June 2022. Producers in France are also facing competition from low-priced Brazilian product that continues to gain in market share. Some relief was offered to domestic producers by the Government of France that imposed a ban on import of chicken derived from flocks receiving antibiotics in feed.